PineClan's Story
by Feathershine
Summary: The story of my own four Clans. A mysterious rogue is threatening PineClan. Can any cat stop him from picking off PineClan's warriors one by one?
1. Chapter 1

"Briarkit!" Bluekit prodded the sleeping kit with a forepaw.

"What?" the sleepy kit asked groggily, opening one eye.

"Shh!" Bluekit whispered. "Let's go explore!" Briarkit shot a quick glance at his mother, Ferntail, to check that the queen was still asleep.

"Willowfur and Leafkit and Rosekit are asleep," Bluekit assured his friend. "So are Silvertail and Whitefeather." The two moon-old tom kits crept cautiously out of the warm nursery.

"Briarkit! Bluekit!" The two kits froze at the sound of another cat's hushed voice. Bluekit whipped around.

Orchidkit, Briarkit's sister, stood behind them. "What are you doing?" she hissed reproachfully.

"Exploring the camp," Bluekit said, puffing out his chest. "We've got to check that no OakClan warriors are invading."

"But Ferntail said -"

"We're not hurting anything!" Bluekit insisted. Orchidkit's eyes opened wide with horror and she flattened her ears against her head. "What's wrong?" he blue-furred kit asked. Briarkit nudged his friend, and Bluekit turned around.

"Shouldn't you kits be asleep?"

The three kits were face to face with Windystep, the Clan deputy, and Bluekit's father.

"We aren't -" Bluekit trailed off. For once, he could find nothing to say.

"We're sorry," Briarkit mumbled.

"It was their fault!" Orchidkit protested. "I was -"

Windystep cut her off. "Briarkit, Orchidkit, go to bed. Bluekit, I want to speak with you."

The other two kits meekly padded back into the nursery. The tom looked at his son, while Bluekit studied his paws, ashamed. If Bluekit had been looking, he would have seen a mixture of love, amusement, grief, and sternness in his father's blue eyes. Bluekit was the spitting image of his mother, Rainfall, who had died along with the rest of her kits, during the delivery.

"Bluekit," Windystep said softly, causing the kit to look up and meet the deputy's eyes. "I understand that any kit gets in trouble sometimes. But try not to give Ferntail too much trouble, alright? It was very kind of her to take you in after... after your mother...." Windystep trailed off, fighting down his raging grief at the loss of his mate.

"I know," Bluekit said, looking at his paws again. "But Orchidkit and I balance each other out."

Windystep gave a _mrrow_ of amusement. "Who told you that?"

"Willowfur," Bluekit said innocently. The tabby tom briefly brushed his muzzle against Bluekit's.

"Run along now. I have to go lead the dawn patrol." He watched fondly as his kit scampered toward the nursery.

"Bluekit!" called Windystep. The kit stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I love you."

Leafkit growled and leapt upon her prey. It squirmed and wreathed under her, but Leafkit held on.

"Ouch!" Whitespot, a large tom with long brown and white fur looked up from his game of batting a ball of moss around with Rosekit. "Leafkit, get off of my tail!" The kit reluctantly sheathed her tiny claws.

"Are our kits causing trouble?" Willowfur asked from where she lay in the sun with Ferntail.

"_This_ one," Whitespot joked, indicating Leafkit, "is _your_ kit right now." Willowfur purred admiringly.

"Graystar!" Ferntail, scenting her mate, opened her eyes and sat up. The leader of PineClan was walking toward them, a plump mouse in his jaws.

"Here you are, Ferntail," said the dark gray tom, dropping his prey at her paws. "Where are the kits? I want to say hello to them before I go hunting with Cedarheart."

"Aren't they playing over there?" Ferntail asked, looking over at a spot between the nursery and the elders den.

"I don't see them," Whitespot said.

"Ferntail! Ferntail!" Orchidkit came barreling out of nowhere toward her mother.

"Orchidkit! What's wrong?" the queen asked, looking very worried. "Where are Briarkit and Bluekit?"

"They're in the elders den and they're bothering Runningbelly and Shreddedear!" Ferntail visibly relaxed, but Graystar looked annoyed.

"I'll go fetch them," the leader growled. He stalked toward the elders den.

"Ah, Graystar," Runningbelly rasped as the tom entered the cool den. "Come to fetch the kits?"

"They're not doing any harm," Shreddedear, a tom with an ear that had been severely clawed in a battle long ago against CliffClan, said. He rose from his position next to Kinkedwhisker, the oldest cat in PineClan and also Graystar's mother, and padded over. He gazed affectionately at the little toms, who had been play-fighting a moment ago.

"Hello, Graystar," Briarkit said shyly.

"We were pretending that Briarkit was a warrior from MoorClan and I was driving him off of our territory!" Bluekit exclaimed, tail waving happily in the air.

Graystar gazed sternly at the kits. "Briarkit, Bluekit, didn't Ferntail tell you to stay by the nursery?"

"The elders den _is_ by the nursery," Bluekit shot back. Briarkit, who had been hanging his head, shot a horrified glance at his friend. Graystar studied the kit his mate had taken in, the son of his trusted deputy.

"Come," he said, turning to go. Briarkit humbly followed the gray tom into the sunshine of newleaf.

"Bye!" Bluekit called to Shreddedear and Runningbelly, then bounced out after the father and son, totally unabashed.


	2. Chapter 2

About two moons later, Orchidkit was grooming her fur carefully. It had gotten all messed up by Bluekit. "That tom is so annoying!" she hissed to herself.

She had just been coming to tell Bluekit and Briarkit that they shouldn't be playing so far away from the nursery when Bluekit had screamed, "MoorClan intruder!" and they both pounced on her an messed up her pelt. She lashed her tail in irritation. Bluekit was always getting in trouble, and dragging her brother into it! She didn't understand. Did he _like_ getting scolded by Ferntail? It didn't seem to bother him much.

Orchidkit stretched and yawned. Maybe she should go take a nap. She padded toward the nursery. "I'm tired," she said to Ferntail, who was sharing tongues with a she-cat named Whitefeather. "I'm going to take a nap."

"I'm afraid you can't right now," Willowfur, who had just come to join the she-cats, said. "Silvertail is having her kits."

"Is she?" Whitefeather exclaimed.

"Yes," Willowfur said. "Blossomfur is with her now." Orchidkit hadn't noticed the medicine cat entering the nursery, but she did recall seeing Blossomfur's apprentice, Forestpaw, dashing toward the medicine cat's den a few times. She had just figured that Mothflight's wound from a border patrol skirmish had been acting up again.

"What about my nap?" Orchidkit whined.

"You can take it later," Ferntail said. "Why don't you see if Rosekit and Leafkit will play with you?"

Orchidkit reluctantly padded toward where Willowfur's kits were playing.

"Hi, Orchidkit!" Rosekit said. "Want to play with us?"

"Okay," Orchidkit said.

Rosekit batted a ball of moss toward Orchidkit. "Let's play keep-away from Leafkit!" Orchidkit picked up the ball in her mouth and started to run away. Leafkit, who was over a moon older than her, quickly caught up. She pounced on Orchidkit, bowling her over.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Orchidkit complained, dropping the moss, which Leafkit promptly scooped up.

"I win!" she exclaimed. "Now we keep away from you!" She tossed the ball toward her sister, and they both ran off.

"I don't want to play anymore!" Orchidkit wailed. The older kits didn't hear. She headed back to her mother.

"Back so soon?" Ferntail asked.

"I don't like that game," Orchidkit said, and sulked next to her mother for some time. She eventually drifted off to sleep. When she woke up, Ferntail, Willowfur, and Whitefeather were talking quietly. She kept her eyes closed and listened.

"Just one kit?" Whitefeather was saying. "That's unusual."

"And no tom came to see how she and the kit were doing," Willowfur said. Orchidkit guessed that Silvertail had given birth.

"Did she tell either of you who the father is?" Ferntail asked.

"No one seems to know," Willowfur said.

"Blossomfur said that the kit has his mother's silver pelt," Ferntail said. "So no clues there."

"And she gave him such a strange name too," Whitefeather said.

"What was it, again?" Ferntail asked.

"Slashkit, right?" Willowfur said.

"Yes, that's it," Whitefeather agreed.

Orchidkit yawned and stretched.

"You're awake!" Ferntail said. Orchidkit nodded, pretending she had woken after the queens' conversation. Ferntail began to groom her kit's rumpled fur.

Blossomfur, a light brown she-cat, stepped out of the nursery.

"How are Silvertail and Slashkit?" Whitefeather asked.

"They are both fine," the medicine cat reported. "Have you seen Forestpaw?"

"I'll go get him!" Orchidkit offered.

"I saw him go into Blossomfur's den," Ferntail said, nudging her daughter to her paws. "Be quick!"

Orchidkit dashed off. She poked her head into the medicine cat's den. "Forestpaw?"

"Yes?" the dark brown apprentice asked. Orchidkit noticed that her heart began beating faster, and she felt hot under the gaze of the handsome cat's leaf-green eyes.

"Um... uh... um..."

"What is it?" the apprentice asked.

"Oh! Um, Blossomfur needs you," Orchidkit said quickly.

"Thanks." Forestpaw dashed past her without a second glance. Orchidkit stood for a minute, blinking, then padded slowly back to her mother.

Silvertail looked down at her newborn kit. A shaft of moonlight from a hole in the nursery ceiling illuminated her nest. The other three queens and five kits were asleep.

"This never should have happened," Silvertail whispered. "Oh, Slash... what am I to do?"

The face of her mate swam before her eyes. His midnight-black fur and eyes as red as blood were so close... yet so far. "This shouldn't have happened."

All of the pain in her heart rose up into a yowl that she only just managed to stifle. Slashkit stirred.

"Hush, little one," the queen soothed. The agony in her heart was spiked with a fierce love for this little bundle of silvery fur. He was so precious. Was there a more beautiful and perfect kit in the whole world?

But what would happen when the Clan found out who Slashkit's father was? Wild fear raged inside of Silvertail, threatening to consume her. "I don't care what happens to me anymore," she muttered. "I'll never see my one true love again. Oh, DreamClan, just keep Slashkit safe."


	3. Chapter 3

Rosekit bounced up and down in excitement, her tail arched happily over her back.

"Settle down, Rosekit," an amused Willowfur purred.

"I'm just so -" the kit was cut off as her sister bowled her over. The two she-kits wrestled in the dust for a moment until their mother pulled them apart.

"Oh, look what you've done!" the queen exclaimed. "Your fur is all messed up! Do you want to look like a scruffy rogue for your apprentice ceremony?"

The kits squealed in horror at the thought and tried to sit still as their mother groomed them.

"Look!" Leafkit exclaimed, leaping to her paws. "Whitespot is back!" The kits' father had just returned from a hunting patrol.

The large tom padded toward his mate and kits. "What beautifully groomed and well behaved kits these are!" he said. Whitespot looked at Willowfur. "Who do they belong to?"

"Whitespot!" Rosekit cried indignantly. "You know we're Rosekit and Leafkit."

The tom's amber eyes widened in mock surprise. "Rosekit and Leafkit? But my kits are never this clean and quiet!"

"We can't look like scruffy rouges for our apprentice ceremony," Leafkit said snootily, flicking her tail in disgust.

"Of course," Whitespot purred. "I'm very proud of you two."

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather at Star Rock for a Clan meeting!" Graystar yowled from across the camp.

"It's time!" Leafkit squeaked in excitement. The two kits leaped to their paws and dashed across the clearing. Whitespot and Willowfur followed more slowly, nearly bursting with love and pride for their two kits.

Soon, the whole Clan was gathered around Star Rock, with the exception of Silvertail and young Slashkit, who were watching from the nursery entrance.

Graystar looked down fondly at Rosekit and her sister, who returned his gaze with shining eyes.

"I believe it's time for an apprentice ceremony," the stone-colored tom said clearly. "Leafkit, Rosekit, please join me on Star Rock." The sisters hopped to their paws and climbed onto Star Rock, a large stone which sat above Graystar's den. Rosekit breathed a sigh of relief when she finally stood beside Graystar, glad that she hadn't tripped in front of the whole Clan.

"Leafkit." The older sister looked up and met Graystar's amber eyes. "From this day forward, until you receive your warrior names, you will be known as Leafpaw.

"Marshpelt," Graystar said, turning to a large, dark brown warrior. "I name you as Leafpaw's mentor. You are a great fighter and loyal warrior. I hope that you will pass these qualities onto Leafpaw."

Rosekit's sister jumped down from Star Rock and briefly touched noses with her new mentor.

"Rosekit," Graystar said, turning to Rosekit. "From this day forward you will be called Rosepaw until you receive your warrior name." Rosepaw felt a rush of elation when the leader spoke her new name. _Rosepaw!_ she thought. _I'm Rose_paw_ now!_

"I name Sunstorm as your mentor," said the leader. Rosepaw saw a ginger tom with bright blue eyes rise and slowly walk forward. She jumped down to greet him and nervously bumped his nose with hers.

"Leafpaw! Rosepaw! Leafpaw! Rosepaw!" the Clan chanted. Rosepaw stifled a purr of pleasure.

"Hey Rosepaw!" one of the older apprentices, Hazelpaw, called. "Do you want me to show you and Leafpaw the apprentice den?"

Rosepaw looked at Sunstorm for permission. He nodded.

"Go ahead," said her mentor. "But be quick."

Rosepaw nodded to show that she'd heard and then left with Hazelpaw.

"Leafpaw!" Marshpelt called. The new apprentice stuck her head out from the apprentice den.

"Yes, Marshpelt?" she asked. Leafpaw had to admit that she wasn't thrilled to have such a bad-tempered cat as her mentor. Why couldn't she have a nice mentor like Rosepaw's?

"Fetch your sister. Sunstorm and I are going to show you two PineClan's territory," said the dark brown tom. Leafpaw nodded and disappeared back into the shadowy den.

"...and Hawkpaw, Lionpaw, and Gingerpaw sleep over there," Otterpaw, Hazelpaw's brother was saying. "They're the oldest apprentices, due to be warriors in about a moon or so."

"Rosepaw," Leafpaw said. She saw a flash of pride pass through her sister's eyes at the sound of her apprentice name. "Our mentors are going to take us into the woods now!"

"Really?" Rosepaw asked. "I'm so excited!" She turned to Hazelpaw and Otterpaw. "Thank you for showing us the apprentice den."

"Don't mention it," Hazelpaw said, waving her tail. "Have fun on your first day as an apprentice!"

"Thanks!" Leafpaw said as she darted out of the den, Rosepaw hot on her heels. Their mentors were sitting a little ways away. Both were very large toms. Marshpelt was the larger of the two, with olive green eyes and plenty of battle scars. Sunstorm was a bit younger, with a glossy ginger pelt that shone in the sun. His eyes were a deep, clear blue, and his muzzle, paws, chest, and tail tip were white. Both cats rose when their apprentices appeared.

"When we call, we expect you to come immediately," Marshpelt said sternly. "No chatting with friends until you _feel_ like obeying."

"Don't be too harsh on them," Sunstorm said, flicking the other tom with his tail. "It _is _only their first day."

"Are we really going out into the forest?" Leafpaw blurted, unable to contain her excitement any longer.

Sunstorm purred with amusement."Yes," said the ginger tom. The sisters exchanged excited glances.

"You need to know your territory if you want to hunt in it and defend it from the other Clans," Marshpelt said. He shook his pelt. "Let's be off." The apprentices excitedly followed their mentors to the camp entrance. Leafpaw glanced back and saw her parents watching proudly.

"Are you going into the forest?" Leafpaw turned and saw Briarkit and Bluekit nearby. Briarkit's eyes shone with admiration, while Bluekit merely looked interested.

"Yes," Rosepaw said.

"We _are_ apprentices after all," Leafpaw said contemptuously.

"Don't worry," said Rosepaw when she noticed that Briarkit looked a little crestfallen. "You'll be apprenticed soon enough."

"I can't wait until this one has a mentor," said Ferntail, who had just arrived with Orchidkit. She gestured to Bluekit. "Then he'll be out of my pelt."

"Hey!" Bluekit meowed indignantly.

"It's true," Orchidkit said haughtily, wrinkling her nose. "All you are is trouble." She turned to stalk away, nose in the air. She didn't see Bluekit spring and tackle her, screaming, "OakClan spy!"

"Leafpaw! Rosepaw!" Sunstorm called. The sisters' heads snapped up, and they saw that their mentors were waiting for them just outside of the camp.

"Coming!" cried Leafpaw. She followed Rosepaw as they dashed away. _Look out, forest_, she thought. _Here I come._


	4. Chapter 4

Briarkit fluffed up his coat to make himself look bigger. "I'm Tornpelt, deputy of MoorClan!" he cried. "I've come to steal PineClan's territory!"

"Oh no you don't!" growled Bluekit. "I'm Bluestar, leader of PineClan, and I'm the best leader there ever was!"

"You're not the leader!" Briarkit objected. "You're just a kit!"

"I'm just as much leader as you are deputy of MoorClan. I'm going to be the best warrior ever," Bluekit bragged waving his tail in the air, "like Windystep."

"Graystar is leader," Briarkit said. "That means he's the best."

Bluekit was just about to reply when they were interrupted.

"What are you kits up to?" The two tom kits looked up. Bluekit's father Windystep was watching them, an his eyes glowing with amusement.

"I'm defending the territory against Bri-- I mean, Tornpelt," Bluekit explained.

Windystep purred. "That's great," he said. "But I think the territory can wait until morning. You need to go to bed."

"But I don't want to!" Bluekit whined. Briarkit wondered how his friend could be so disrespectful toward his own sire.

"It's late," said the deputy. "The Gathering patrol is about to leave, and I have to go with them."

Briarkit watched his friend flatten his ears in defeat. "Fine," he said.

"Briarkit!" the brown tabby kit heard his mother call. "Bluekit!" She stuck her head out from the nursery. "Oh. Hello, Windystep. Kits, come along. Time for bed."

"Windystep already _told_ us that," Bluekit said. Briarkit obediently headed toward the nursery. He turned to watch his friend follow, tail waving in the air.

"Good-bye, Windystep!" the blue-furred kit called.

"Good night, Bluekit," the deputy purred.

Whitefeather, belly heavy with unborn kits, and Silvertail were already asleep, Slashkit curled up against his mother's flank. Ferntail beckoned with her tail to the tom kits. Orchidkit was snuggled up next to their mother already, her breathing deep and steady. Briarkit lay down near his mother, fluffing the moss until it was just right. Bluekit curled up next to him. The other kit's whiskers tickled Briarkit's nose, and he sneezed. Soon, he was fast asleep.

Briarkit was awoken by the familiar jab of Bluekit's paw against his flank. He blinked open his amber eyes. "What?"

"Shh!" Bluekit breathed. "The Gathering patrol is back." Briarkit sat up and shook scraps of moss from his pelt. He saw Bluekit get up and start to head toward the nursery's entrance, but Briarkit stopped him.

"Look!" he whispered. "Silvertail is awake." His friend turned to see the silver-furred queen sitting up in her nest, ears angled toward the nursery entrance. Briarkit listened too. He could hear three sets of paws heading toward them.

"Can you believe it?"Briarkit recognized the voice of Mothflight, one of the warriors.

"MoorClan must be mouse-brained," said a second warrior. _Moosefur,_ Briarkit thought, picturing the bad-tempered, dark brown tom.

"Redstar must have had some reason," said the third warrior, a she-cat named Stripefur. "Maybe MoorClan are short on kits or apprentices."

"But taking in a loner to train as a warrior?"Moosefur spat in disgust. "There's _no_ reason to do that." Out of the corner of his eye, Briarkit saw Silvertail stiffen and glance down at her sleeping kit. He turned his attention back to the nursery entrance as the warriors resumed talking.

"It makes MoorClan weaker," Mothflight pointed out. "That's good for us. Any PineClan _apprentice_ could take a loner in battle."

"At least they didn't take in a kittypet," Moosefur scoffed. "Then all we'd have to do is send a few of our kits over to their camp and we'd have MoorClan trembling at our paws." Mothflight and Moosefur laughed heartily.

"A loner being a warrior," Mothflight said disdainfully. "I never thought I'd see the day." As the three warriors' pawsteps faded into the distance, Briarkit turned to lie back down. He saw Silvertail shift, and froze. Had she noticed that they were awake?

But the queen seemed preoccupied. She was staring at her kit, looking stricken. Briarkit was concerned. Was she sick? Was Slashkit sick? Why did she look so worried?

Briarkit banished the thoughts from his mind as Bluekit began snoring beside him. He'd have plenty of time to dwell on Silvertail's mood in the morning. Right now, he was beat.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather at Star Rock for a Clan meeting!"

Bluekit felt a rush of excitement at the familiar summons. He followed the rest of the Clan to Star Rock, where he sat beside Windystep. His father purred as he sat down, his eyes shining.

"You're so lucky!" Briarkit meowed as he walked past to sit beside his mother. Bluekit flicked his ears in agreement. He had been waiting for this day for... what? Six moons?

Graystar spoke. "By apprenticing our kits, we show that PineClan will survive and remain strong through new warriors, the lifeblood of the Clan. Bluekit, please join me on Star Rock." Bluekit leapt to his paws, a wild energy surging through his veins. Windystep flicked him affectionately on the shoulder with his tail as Bluekit passed by. The other cats parted to make a path for him. The apprentice-to-be sprang gracefully onto Star Rock.

The whole Clan was gathered beneath him, besides Whitefeather, who had stayed in the nursery with her new kits, Heatherkit, Skykit, and Frostkit. "Bluekit," said Graystar. "From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be called Bluepaw."

"Bluepaw! Bluepaw! Bluepaw!" the Clan chanted. The new apprentice could feel their love and support radiating from them. It warmed his pelt more than the sun ever had. All the Clan had a soft spot for this mischievous kit, the son of Rainfall, who had been a much-respected warrior in her lifetime and their beloved deputy.

Graystar silenced the Clan with a flick of his tail. "Bluepaw's mentor shall be none other than myself," he said. Bluepaw was surprised. It was an honor to be mentored by the Clan leader. _I suppose I _am _the kit of his deputy_, he thought proudly. Graystar bent to touch noses with his new apprentice, and Bluepaw quickly completed the ritual. "Clan meeting dismissed," said the leader. The Clan dispersed, breaking into smaller groups of cats. Some stayed to congratulate Bluepaw.

Windystep was the first. "I'm so proud of you, Bluepaw," he said, his stormy green eyes shining incredibly bright.

"Thank you," Bluepaw said. "I'll be a good apprentice for Graystar." He turned as he heard a purr of amusement. Ferntail had come to congratulate her adopted kit.

"You?" she asked. "Be a good apprentice? When hedgehogs fly! I don't know what Graystar was thinking, taking you on." When Bluepaw looked put-out, she reached down to nuzzle him affectionately. "I'm sure you will make your mother proud," she murmured, just loud enough for Bluepaw to hear. "She was my best friend, you know. We trained together."

"Really?" asked Bluepaw.

"Yes," said Ferntail. "Ah, those were the days...."

"Congratulations on becoming an apprentice!" Bluepaw turned to see Gingertail and her brother Lionclaw, who had both become warriors recently along with their brother Hawkscar. Bluepaw barely had enough time to say "thank you" before two other cats that he knew quite well came to greet him.

"Bluepaw!" called Leafpaw. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks!" Bluepaw said.

"You're so lucky!" said Rosepaw. "The Clan leader as your mentor!"

"I know," said Bluepaw, feeling a bit smug at the jealous looks on the two she-cats' faces.

"We can show you around the apprentice den sometime," Leafpaw offered.

"Bluepaw!" The apprentice turned yet again to see who the newcomer was.

"Graystar!" he said, standing up taller in the presence of his mentor.

"Come," said the gray tom. "I'm going to show you the forest." Bluepaw felt a surge of excitement. The forest! He couldn't wait to stalk prey in the shadows of the pines, or check for OakClan intruders along the border (for real this time!). As he bounded after Graystar, Bluepaw glanced back at his father. He could see the immeasurable pride and love in his fathers eyes. It was the best feeling in the world. Bluepaw knew that he would give up anything, just so long as he could be loved by Windystep.

Bluepaw breathed deeply as he followed Graystar into the forest. The scents of the pine woods rushed to greet him: the fresh air, fragrant pine needles, and warm scents of prey blended in perfect harmony. _This is _my _territory_, Bluepaw thought. The needles that littered the ground were a bit prickly, but made the ground spongy and nice to walk upon.

"Do you see this little clearing beside the camp?" Graystar asked. Bluepaw nodded in reply. "This is the training hollow, where we teach the apprentices battle moves. The ground is nice and sandy, and it is soft enough to not hurt when you hit the ground."

"Are we going to train right now?" Bluepaw asked excitedly, stepping toward the hollow.

"No," said Graystar. "You need to learn the boundaries and landmarks of our territory." The two toms headed west, away from the sun that was rising over the forest.

When they eventually reached the edge of the forest, Graystar held his tail in front of Bluepaw to stop him. "Breathe deeply," he instructed. "What do you smell?"

Bluepaw opened his mouth to draw the air over the scent glands in his upper mouth. He wrinkled his nose. "It smells yucky."

Graystar purred in amusement. "That is the scent of CliffClan, and you'd do well to remember it. The tree line is the border between our territories. Never cross it, unless you want to get ripped to shreds by a CliffClan patrol." Bluepaw nodded, although he thought it might be fun to sink his claws into a few mangy CliffClan cats when he got a little bigger. They continued on, north now, traveling farther away from the CliffClan border as to not draw suspicion upon themselves.

Soon they came to a little pool with a small brook that flowed into the river on CliffClan's territory. A large willow tree grew alongside of the spring.

"This is Willow Spring," Graystar said. "The water here is always cool and clear. In the hottest days of greenleaf it is a wonderful place to drink. When I was a young warrior, Russetstar, then leader of CliffClan, launched an attack on PineClan and won the spring from us. We retaliated a season or so later and won it back. CliffClan was so badly defeated that they haven't tried to steal it again."

"Is that how Shreddedear's ear got so ripped up?" Bluepaw asked.

"Yes," said Graystar. "He fought in both battles."

After drinking from the spring, the toms began angling east until they reached the next landmark of PineClan territory.

"Woah!" Bluepaw said. "What's that?" Four crumbling walls of stone stood in a rectangle. Rubble littered the area.

"A very old, abandoned Twoleg nest," Graystar explained. "The legend is that it once stood taller than some of these pines, but over the seasons it crumbled, and now stands only this high."

Bluepaw raced forward and leaped onto the top of the closest wall. Tons of rocks were scattered around the inside. He could hear a few scrabbling noises of small furry creatures who lived in the little pockets between stones. His nose picked up something very sweet-smelling. He tracked the scent to the front of the Twoleg nest, where clumps of beautiful purple flowers bloomed in the late greenleaf sunshine. Bluepaw dashed over. They smelled so good! He opened his mouth to eat one, but a yowl from Graystar made him freeze.

"Don't eat the catmint," he said sternly. "Blossomfur needs it to survive for the cats who catch whitecough or greencough. It is a very valuable and rare herb that only grows in Twoleg dwellings."

"Oh," said Bluepaw. He still wanted to eat it.

"This way," said Graystar, leading the apprentice southwards.

Bluepaw stared in wonder. The next thing Graystar was showing him was the Sky Pine, the tallest tree in the whole forest. Bluepaw had to tip his head all the way back to see the top, which seemed to scrape the clouds.

"Can I climb it?" he asked. Not waiting for an answer, Bluepaw dashed forward and launched himself onto the trunk, digging his claws in. He had almost made it halfway up the bare part of the trunk before Graystar called him down.

"Bluepaw!" he exclaimed. "Never do anything like that without your mentor's permission! You could easily kill yourself by climbing too high and falling off."

"Where are we going next?" Bluepaw asked without missing a beat. Becoming an apprentice had not made him more vulnerable to scolding. With a flick of his tail, Graystar lead on.

The leader didn't approach the next landmark. Bluepaw stared at it. It was a charred stump, as black as the warrior Crowflight's pelt. "What happened to it?" he asked.

"This is the Death Tree," Graystar said quietly. "It was struck by lightning many seasons ago. It is a place of bad omens. It is said that any cat who touches it will die within a sunrise."

Before Graystar could stop him, Bluepaw sprinted forward and pressed a paw against it.

"Bluepaw!" Graystar cried. "What have you done? Get back here, now!" Bluepaw calmly walked back to his mentor.

"I don't feel any different," Bluepaw said. Graystar stared at him.

"Do you _want_ to die?" Graystar asked furiously. "What do you think Windystep would do if he lost you? You're all he has left."

"I know," Bluepaw said. "But I don't think that tree is cursed. It just feels like a burnt-up tree." Graystar hissed with annoyance and stalked off. Bluepaw followed, tail waving carelessly in the air.

"This is the last thing I wanted to show you," Graystar said. "Although it won't matter if you're dead by tomorrow from that accursed tree."

"I'm not going to die, Graystar," Bluepaw said. "The tree isn't cursed." Graystar held Bluepaw's sapphire gaze in his own stern amber one. Bluepaw didn't flinch, and the leader was the first to look away.

"So what's this stump for?" Bluepaw asked. He jumped on top of it.

"This is PineClan's initiation site," Graystar explained. "Each Clan has one. When a cat becomes a warrior, he must spend a night atop this stump, guarding the territory from enemies and reflecting on what it means to be a warrior." Bluepaw closed his eyes, imagining that the setting sun was the beginning of his own first night as a warrior. Energy flooded his veins once again.

"Now what?" he asked.

"We're done for the day. We're heading back to camp," said Graystar.

"Okay!" said Bluepaw. Graystar lead the way back to camp. Bluepaw couldn't believe how slowly the gray cat was walking; he was bursting with energy. He was now an apprentice of PineClan!


	5. Chapter 5

Silvertail shifted uncomfortably in her nest. Slashkit was sleeping, tired out from wrestling with Briarkit, who needed a new playmate since Bluepaw had left the nursery. Whitefeather was quietly grooming her two kits, who were napping in the afternoon heat. The newest addition to the nursery was Sandstripe, Graystar's daughter, who was carrying Braveheart's kits. Ferntail was outside with Briarkit and Orchidkit.

Silvertail longed to take a good run through the forest and stretch her legs. She had been cooped up in the nursery for so long, yet the queen was afraid to leave Slashkit on his own for too long.

"Silvertail?" Whitefeather asked, looking up from her two she-kits. "Is something wrong?"

"No!" Silvertail said. "I mean, no, of course not. I'm just a little sick of lying in the nursery."

"Would you like me to watch Slashkit while you go hunting or something?" Whitefeather offered.

"I… I, uh…" she stammered. The offer was tempting, but what if… while she was gone…?

"He'll be fine," Whitefeather assured the silver queen. "I won't let anything happen to him." Silvertail reluctantly agreed. She trusted the white-furred queen, and she needed to get out of the nursery.

As Silvertail trotted through the forest, delighted with the fresh breeze on her pelt, she heard the pawsteps approaching from behind. She turned around, picking up PineClan scents. Windystep, Brookfur, Cedarheart, and Crowflight were racing through the forest toward the CliffClan border.

"What's wrong?" she asked, seeing the tense looks on their faces.

"Whitespot and Otterpaw just came back," Cedarheart explained. "There's trouble on the CliffClan border; something about a black loner."

Heart in her throat, Silvertail followed the patrol toward the CliffClan border. A black loner? Could it be Doom?

Crowflight glanced back at her, but didn't ask why she was tagging along, or why she looked so worried.

As they neared the border, Silvertail knew her greatest hope and worst fear had been realized. She could see them, about half way between the river and the forest. A patrol of dripping CliffClan cats had cornered a black loner, a little on the small side, with red eyes and long fangs and claws.

The PineClan warriors stopped at the border. The CliffClan cats and the loner looked up when they scented the newcomers.

"Ah hah!" crowed a ginger-striped warrior named Orangestripe. "So the PineClan patrol has come to rescue their border-crossing piece of foxdung."

"That's no warrior of ours," Windystep explained. "He's a loner, by the looks of it."

Silvertail's heart started beating overtime. Doom had singled her out, his eyes lighting up. Silvertail longed to run to him, to bury her face in his fur....

"So he's just a _trespassing_ piece of foxdung," snarled Orangestripe. "Maybe we should teach this little chunk of crowfood a lesson." Silvertail gasped as the CliffClan warrior raked his claws across Doom's shoulder. Doom growled, his eyes glowing dangerously. His strangely long claws slid out of their sheathes, and he bared his huge teeth. Doom threw himself and Orangestripe, clawing and biting for all he was worth. The other warriors, CliffClan and PineClan alike gasped or yowled in surprise. The CliffClan patrol joined the fight, trying to subdue the black loner. The PineClan cats raced over the border to help. Silvertail ran the fastest, passing the patrol. She reached the brawling cats long before the others, and leaped into the fray, determined not to let them kill her Doom. One of the warriors of CliffClan bit down hard on her left foreleg, injuring it enough to make it practically useless. At her screech of pain, Doom looked up from his opponents to see if she was alright. Orangestripe took this opportunity to pin him down. Silvertail, who had fought her way to the edge of the river, slipped on a spray-wet rock and plunged into the raging water.

The silver cat opened her mouth to yowl with surprise, and the chill water rushed into her mouth, choking her. Her maimed foreleg was useless in her struggle to paddle to the surface. Silvertail had never swum before, and it took everything she had to get her nose above the water. The current pushed her along the river, away from the edge. Silvertail paddled with her three good legs, but it was no use. The river was winning, and her strength was fading fast. _I'm going to drown,_ she thought. Only then did she feel the teeth grasp her scruff and drag her through the water.

When Silvertail and her rescuer reached the shore, the PineClan toms and Doom helped to pull her onto dry land. Silvertail collapsed onto the dirt, gasping for air. Then she saw that her savior was a stone-colored CliffClan tom who had broken away from the battle and jumped into the river when he saw her fall in.

The cold, early leaf-fall winds chilled her to the bone. Pain shot through her leg and her lungs with every breath.

"I'm not going to make it, Doom," she whispered. The black loner stopped trying to lick her pelt dry and tenderly touched his nose to hers.

"Yes you are," he said firmly. "You have to." When she didn't reply, he went on, "Please don't die, Silvertail. I've only just found you again…."

"It will be all right," the queen said softly. "I will watch over our son from DreamClan."

"Our son?"

"Yes…. He is in good paws – Whitefeather will take care of him…. Doom, I've named him Slashkit." Doom's eyes stretched wide. Silvertail was the only one who knew his real name … that the title "Doom" was only that – a name given to him by his admirers.

"Silvertail! Don't go," Doom begged. "I love you!" Silvertail hated the pain she was causing him. This cat was the love of her life. She knew every scar on his pelt. She saw past his tough-guy front and into the loving, caring cat inside. If only things had been different…. Oh, how she hoped that the Clan wouldn't be too hard on Slashkit. It wasn't his fault that his sire is a loner. But she knew that Whitefeather would be a good mother to him. Whitefeather would make them see.

"I love you too, Slash," Silvertail whispered. The use of his real name was only for her mate to hear. "Good bye."

Silvertail never heard the loner's cry of anguish as she slipped away, or her Clanmates' hisses of horror and shock as her head thudded to the ground. She only saw stars….

"Whitefeather?" Slashkit prodded the queen's flank with one small silver paw. "When is Silvertail going to be back?"

"I don't know, Slashkit," Whitefeather said. She tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice. She had been gone an awfully long time, but she didn't want Slashkit to worry.

Slashkit looked around. The nursery was empty except for Whitefeather, her kits, and himself. Sandstripe, who had moved to the nursery much later than queens usually did, was basking in the sun with Ferntail. The silver-furred kit watched the white she-cat's kits wrestle on the nursery floor. Frostkit, the only male, was white-pelted like his mother, with long fur and bright brown eyes. Skykit was white with patches of dark blueish-gray fur on her back and amber eyes. The eldest, Heatherkit, had stunning blue eyes, and her fur was mottled, with splashes of white, brown, and dark brown.

"Slashkit!" At the new voice, Slashkit looked up from the small kittens. Briarkit was standing in the entrance of the nursery, his tail waving in excitement. The two kits had become friends when Briarkit's playmate, Bluepaw, had been apprenticed. Slashkit was strong, and able to play with his new friend, even though they were about four moons apart in age.

"What's happening?" Slashkit asked when he had joined Briarkit at the entryway.

"A patrol's just got back," Briarkit explained. "You can hear them from here." Slashkit and Briarkit hovered near the nursery entrance, listening to Windystep and Graystar converse.

"...Graystar, you have to understand," the deputy was saying. "I had to let him come. I've lost my mate too, and if I weren't allowed to see my own son.... You're a father, Graystar. You understand, right?"

Graystar sighed heavily. "All right. Go ahead." Slashkit heard a set of pawsteps coming closer to the nursery. Briarkit squeaked in surprise and the two kits dashed farther into the nursery, unwilling to be caught eavesdropping.

A black-furred tom with a strange scent stepped through the small entryway. When Whitefeather caught his unfamiliar scent, she leaped to her paws. Slashkit was surprised at the change in the gentle queen. Her pelt was fluffed up so that she seemed much bigger, her claws were out, her teeth were bared, and her tail lashed angrily through the air. She was ready to protect the kits from harm.

The tom ignored her. "Hello," he said to Slashkit.

"Hello," Slashkit replied. He wasn't afraid of this black stranger at all. "We have the same color eyes," he observed. The tom began to purr, but he stopped when Whitefeather hissed and advanced.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "What do you want with Slashkit?"

"Slashkit," echoed the tom. "I knew it. He has his mother's pelt, but my eyes... and seemingly my stature. Sorry." Slashkit only then realized that this cat was a little on the small side, yet the way he held himself and the fire in his eyes made him seem as big as the fiercest warrior.

"What are you talking about?" the queen demanded. "If you even touch him, I assure you that you will not see the next sunrise."

"Please calm yourself," said the tom smoothly. Whitefeather seemed to relax in spite of herself. "I am sorry, I have not properly introduced myself. I am called Doom by most. I have permission from your leader to visit my kit."

"_Your_ kit?" asked Slashkit and Whitefeather in unison.

"You're my father? Silvertail never told me." Slashkit waved his tail in delight. So this was his father. He had always wondered. "Speaking of Silvertail, have you seen her? She's been gone for a while."

Doom's ruby eyes filled with an emotion that Slashkit could only identify as pain – or more like agony. "Slashkit," he said softly. "Silvertail is not going to come back."

"What do you mean?" asked the kit.

Doom sighed. "Your mother has gone to watch over you from DreamClan," Doom said gently. Whitefeather and Briarkit beside him froze. Slashkit did not understand.

"She went away? Why?" he asked, confused. "I want her to come back."

"She can't," Doom said, forcing the words out. "I know she hates to leave you here, but she knows that Whitefeather will take good care of you."

"But I need her!" Slashkit wailed. "I need her."

"I know," Doom said, his silky voice cracking.

"I have to go look for her," Slashkit said. "I'll make her come back." He dashed out of the nursery before any cat could stop him and stumbled into camp. He spotted a familiar silver pelt shining in the sunlight from the middle of the clearing. Cats were gathered around, grooming her fur tenderly.

"There she is!" Slashkit cried, his tail waving with happiness. "I knew she wouldn't really leave me." He trotted toward the form of his mother. She appeared to be sleeping. Slashkit wondered why her fur was wet, and why Blossomfur wasn't putting herbs onto the nasty-looking gash on her leg. "Mother!" he called out, running faster. Windystep tried to restrain him, but Slashkit slipped out and pressed his nose against his mother's pelt. "Silvertail! Wake up!"

She didn't stir.

"Silvertail! Silvertail!" He prodded her with a forepaw.

No response.

Slashkit looked up at Windystep and Crowflight, Silvertail's brother. "Why won't she wake up?" The toms exchanged glances, both of their eyes filled with pain.

"Slashkit…" Windystep began.

"Why's everyone so sad?" Slashkit asked. "And _why_ won't Silvertail wake up?"

Crowflight sighed. "Slashkit, Silvertail is dead."

"Dead?" Slashkit turned back to his mother, eyes wide. "But she can't be. She can't die. She can't leave me here all alone." He pressed his nose into his mothers familiar pelt. "Silvertail!" he cried. "Silvertail, wake up!"

The queen didn't move. Slashkit realized that Silvertail, if she really was alive, wouldn't ignore him if he was calling. "Silvertail!" he screeched in desperation. "Silvertail! Wake up! Wake up, _please._ Silvertail! Silvertail! No! No!" Slashkit sank to the ground and curled up next to his mothers unmoving body. He stared into space, shaking, not seeing the other cats come to mourn for their lost Clanmate. He didn't hear Crowflight telling him to get up, to come back to the nursery. All he knew was that Silvertail was dead, and she was never coming back. She would never tenderly groom his fur when he woke up in the morning. He would never hear her wonderful purr again, or see the love shining in her eyes when she looked at him.

He was alone.


	6. Chapter 6

A gentle paw prodded the newly-named apprentice.

"Orchidpaw," whispered the paw's owner. "Wake up." Orchidpaw blinked open her eyes and yawned. She looked around the apprentice den. Otterpaw and Leafpaw had very recently vacated their nests, while Rosepaw's scent seemed faint._ She probably went on the dawn patrol_, Orchidpaw thought. Hazelpaw, the cat who had woken Orchidpaw, was now gently rousing Briarpaw.

Orchidpaw listened to them talk while she groomed her rumpled fur.

"Aren't you going to wake Bluepaw up?" Briarpaw asked.

"No," said Hazelpaw, glancing at the still-snoozing apprentice. "You and your sister have only been apprentices for two sunrises. I figured you'd need a little help sometimes, since you're not used to the routine. Bluepaw, on the other hand, has been apprenticed longer than you. He should be able to get up by himself."

_He's so lazy_, thought Orchidpaw disdainfully.

When her pelt was groomed to perfection, Orchidpaw stepped into the sunlight of the camp. Her mentor, Stripefur, was sitting nearby, talking to Crowflight. Crowflight was Briarpaw's mentor; no doubt they were discussing the two siblings' training for today. The two warriors stood up when they saw Orchidpaw and Briarpaw exit the den.

"Let's be off," Crowflight said, shaking himself.

"What are we doing today?" asked Briarpaw eagerly. Orchidpaw flicked her tail. She hoped they didn't do battle training. She didn't like fighting and getting all messy from rolling around in the dirt.

"We're hunting for the elders," Stripefur said. "Let's go." She flicked her tail at her apprentice, her striped fur shining in the early leaf-fall sun. Orchidpaw followed more slowly, her paws dragging.

Once they were a little ways into the forest, Stripefur glanced back at Orchidpaw. "You'll need to travel more quietly," she said. "There's not much undergrowth out here to hide in while we're stalking prey. We need to use stealth to sneak up on it." Orchidpaw half-heartedly picked up her paws more as she walked so they would not brush the needles. At Stripefur's words, Briarpaw, who was following with Crowflight, began picking up his paws and setting them down with more care.

After walking for a bit longer, Stripefur halted and held out her tail: a signal to the others to stop. "What do you scent?" she breathed to Orchidpaw.

Orchidpaw sniffed the air. "Some kind of prey," she replied. "A squirrel?"

"Yes!" Stripefur answered with a soft purr. "Very good. Now try to catch it." Stripefur patiently showed Orchidpaw the right way to crouch and stalk the squirrel, who was busy foraging for food some ways away. Crowflight was doing the same with Briarpaw.

"Go ahead," Stripefur said.

"But I... I've never stalked a squirrel for real before," Orchidpaw protested. "I don't know what to do!"

"Crouch just like I showed you," Stripefur encouraged. "Creep up to it, and when you get close, spring and catch it. Don't worry. Your instinct will guide you."

Orchidpaw nervously snuck toward the distracted squirrel. When she thought she was close enough, she sprang. But she had misjudged the distance and landed short. The squirrel scrambled up the nearest pine.

"That's alright," Stripefur said. "It was your first try. I didn't expect you to catch it."

Orchidpaw was just about to reply when she heard Crowflight cry, "Amazing! Great job, Briarpaw!"

Her brother was trotting toward his mentor, something gray and furry in his mouth. His eyes shone, and his chest was puffed out in pride.

"Wow!" Stripefur said, shocked. "You caught something on your first try? That's impressive!"

Orchidpaw knew she should be happy for her brother, but his prideful purr just annoyed her further.

"Bluepaw!" Graystar called. The apprentice finished his mouse and stood up. It was time for the sunhigh border patrol. He strolled over to the camp entrance where the rest of the patrol was waiting. As he passed the nursery, he saw Sandstripe sitting outside with her half-moon-old she-kits, Applekit and Goldenkit. Willowfur, expecting Whitespot's kits again, sat nearby.

There were two other cats in the patrol: Mothflight, a lithe brown she-cat, and Littlestream, a small gray tabby.

"Let's be off," Graystar said, leading the patrol toward the OakClan border.

The patrol began normally enough. They slid through the dark pines, the older cats like liquid shadows. The birds sang, the prey scurried through the pine needles, and the breeze smelled soft and sweet.

They passed the Death Tree (which never had ended up killing Bluepaw). Bluepaw could see that the leafy trees in OakClan territory were changing color. Some leaves burned scarlet, others bright orange, and still others a sunny yellow.

They were about half way between the OakClan border and the Death Tree when Mothflight froze.

"Do you smell that?" she asked. Graystar and Littlestream sniffed the air.

"Cats," Littlestream confirmed.

"OakClan invaders?" Bluepaw asked excitedly. Finally, the moment he had been waiting for! He could show Graystar that his two-and-a-half moons of training were paying off when he ripped those mangy fur balls to shreds!

"No," Mothflight hissed. "Not Clan cats."

"Rouges!" Littlestream cried. Bluepaw followed his gaze. Jewel-bright eyes were appearing in the shadows.

"We can take them," Bluepaw said eagerly. "There's only two." Littlestream hissed and spun around. Another pair of eyes had appeared behind them. And a couple more pairs ... and a couple more....

"You're surrounded."

A black tom stepped out of the darkness in front of the patrol. Bluepaw thought his red eyes looked familiar, but he couldn't quite figure out where he had seen the small cat before.

"Get off of our territory, you mangy, flea-bitten rouge!" Mothflight spat. She was silenced by a look from Graystar.

"You are on the hunting grounds of PineClan," Graystar said calmly. "We ask that you and your companions will leave. There is not enough prey here to share with travelers."

The black tom, seemingly the leader of the band of rogues, flicked his tail, signaling for the other cats to emerge from the shadows. Bluepaw quickly counted seven of them. They were way out numbered. It took all of his concentration to keep his paws from shaking.

"We don't feel like leaving," he said, looking amused. "I think we might stick around for a while."

Mothflight stepped forward. "You fox-hearted piece of crowfood! Take your goons and leave! Now!"

"Darling," the leader purred silkily, "how do you plan to make us?"

With a screech of fury, Mothflight sprang, claws extended.

"Mothflight, no!" Graystar yowled. It was too late. The black rogue leader met her head on, and the other rogues pounced.

Bluepaw found himself face to face with two cats, both much bigger than him. One, a ginger tabby, swiped at Bluepaw with his wickedly sharp claws. Bluepaw dodged and instinctively counterattacked, scoring his claws across the tabby's face. The other cat lunged forward and bit down on Bluepaw's extended foreleg. Bluepaw cried out in pain but managed to pull free. He darted around the second cat, a dark brown tom, and leaped onto his back. He dug his claws in and began to shred the brown cat's ears with his teeth. Hissing, the tom bucked and threw Bluepaw off.

Bluepaw got unsteadily to his paws. The tabby had blood running into his eyes, so Bluepaw darted forward and slashed with his claws, damaging the tabby's face even more. The apprentice felt a rush of pride when the tabby retreated into the shadows, yowling with pain.

But the other cat was leaping toward him now. Bluepaw bolted to the side. The brown cat passed by him so closely that Bluepaw could feel the rush of air on his pelt.

As the brown rogue turned to face Bluepaw, the apprentice darted underneath the bigger cat's belly, trying to claw at the tender underbelly.

It was his fatal mistake.

The brown cat simply flopped down on top of Bluepaw, pinning him to the ground. Bluepaw's mouth was forced into the cool dirt. He inhaled a pine needle and almost choked. _This is the end,_ he thought as he tried to regain his breath.

But then the weight was gone. Bluepaw looked up to see Graystar standing over him. The Clan leader had dragged the rogue off of his apprentice and sent him running into the woods with a few well-placed blows.

"Thanks," Bluepaw panted. He looked around. Graystar had managed to throw off his opponents, but there were three rouges left. The black leader was still locked in combat with Mothflight, while the other two were fighting with Littlestream. The ginger tabby that Bluepaw had driven away was back again, along with another rogue.

"More cats are on the way!" the ginger tom yowled to his leader.

Graystar looked sternly at Bluepaw. "Bluepaw, you must go back and get reinforcements. We are hopelessly outnumbered."

"But I need to stay and help!" Bluepaw protested. "You need as many paws as you can get!"

"That's exactly why you need to get help from camp! Bluepaw, there's no time for arguing!" Graystar said sternly. "Go!"

Bluepaw opened his mouth, but Graystar shot him a look that told Bluepaw that the leader was not going to change his mind.

Bluepaw sprinted through the woods, running faster than he ever had before. His paws barely seemed to touch the pine needles before they were back in the air, reaching for more earth to propel him along.

When he was almost to camp, he spotted a hunting patrol. His father's familiar gray pelt was among them.

"Windystep!" he cried.

All the cats looked up. Bluepaw could see their alarm at the panic in his voice.

"What's wrong, Bluepaw?" asked Windystep.

"Where's Graystar?" asked Cedarheart, Graystar's son from another litter.

"The patrol..." Bluepaw panted. "Ambush ... way outnumbered... you have to help!"

"Let's go!" Windystep said without hesitation. "Bluepaw, lead the way!"

Bluepaw was bone-tired, but he knew he could not give up now. Graystar, Mothflight, and Littlestream needed him. Their very lives could depend on how quickly Bluepaw could get backup. No cat said a word on the way there; not even talkative Leafpaw, who was on the patrol with her mentor Marshpelt.

As they drew closer to the battle site, Bluepaw strained his ears for the sounds of the fight. The forest was deathly quiet. Bluepaw didn't know what to think. Had the Clan cats driven off their attackers? Or had something more dreadful occurred?

The clearing where the cats had been battling was still. Bluepaw froze, eyes wide with horror.

"No..." Cedarheart breathed.

Bluepaw had failed.

The whole patrol was dead.


	7. Chapter 7

Briarpaw stared into space. His whole body felt numb.

Graystar was dead. His _father_ was dead.

He had just gotten the news moments ago.... He had been sharing a squirrel with Ferntail and telling her about his training when Cedarheart, Briarpaw's half-brother, had approached and told them the whole story. The patrol had been attacked by a huge band of rogues, who had slaughtered Graystar, Mothflight, and Littlestream.

Ferntail had gone to find Orchidpaw, who was out hunting with Stripefur, to break the news to her. Briarpaw had been left alone with his shock and grief.

"Briarpaw?"

The tabby apprentice looked up. Bluepaw was standing next to him, looking a bit nervous.

"Briarpaw..." the other apprentice said. "Look, I'm really sorry. I... It's my fault!" he blurted out. "If I had run faster... or if I had stayed and fought...."

"That's ridiculous," Briarpaw said. His voice – his whole body, in fact – felt as if it belonged to some other cat. "If you had stayed, you would have been killed as well."

Bluepaw just hung his head in sadness. Briarpaw saw that he had a bundle of cobwebs around his right foreleg. Briarpaw felt a stab of resentment toward his best friend. Bluepaw had only suffered one wound, but Graystar had lost his life.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under Star Rock for a Clan meeting!"

Briarpaw's head jerked up. A flare of hope surged through him. Could it be...?

But no. Graystar's body still lay in the center of the camp along with Mothflight and Littlestream. Windystep stood on top of Star Rock, and Briarpaw realized with a jolt that he was now Clan leader.

"Come on," Bluepaw said softly, nudging the tabby to his paws. "This way." Briarpaw dazedly followed his friend toward the place where the rest of the Clan was gathering. Briarpaw only half listened as Windystep told the story of the attack to the Clan.

"We must assume that the rogues will strike again," Windystep said. "From now on, no cat will leave camp alone. Apprentices must be accompanied by a warrior. We will patrol the borders more frequently, and the patrols will consist of more cats. Kits are to stay inside the nursery at all times. Runningbelly and Shreddedear will dig a hole where we will stock up on prey incase the camp is attacked." The Clan was deathly silent, listening in rapture. "Marshpelt," Windystep continued, "you will gather a large patrol of cats -- our best warriors. Check to make sure that the rogues have left the territory. Whitespot, you and the apprentices will reinforce the nursery walls while Braveheart and a team of warriors will reinforce the camp walls. Make sure there are no places where a rogue could sneak in. Blossomfur, Forestpaw, take a few warriors and go gather some herbs to treat wounded cats if there is a battle. The rest of the warriors shall go hunting. Meeting dismissed."

Briarpaw looked around the camp. At Windystep's ending words, cats had leaped to their paws to begin the tasks Windystep had laid out for them. Briarpaw had to admit that Windystep's calm way of handling the crisis had prevented the Clan from panicking. Giving the cats a purpose had cleared their minds and allowed them to push away their grief for the time being.

"Briarpaw?" Whitespot said. "I know this is hard for you, but you should help with the nursery." Briarpaw looked up to see the other apprentices already at work, dragging brambles toward the nursery and weaving them into the gaps. "You will have time to grieve tonight during the vigil," Whitespot said softly. "But right now there is a job to be done. The Clan must be defended." Briarpaw nodded and slowly followed Whitespot toward the nursery.

That evening, the exhausted Clan gathered under Star Rock once more. Windystep was to appoint a new deputy before moonhigh, as was tradition.

"I say these words before the body of Graystar, that his spirit may hear and approve of my choice." Windystep's voice rang out across the clearing. "Sunstorm will be the new deputy of PineClan." Briarpaw turned to look at the ginger tom, who gave Windystep a brief nod. Sunstorm's mate, Brookfur, and his kits, Hawkscar, Lionclaw, and Gingertail, purred with pleasure. He could see Rosepaw's eyes shining with pride: her mentor was the new deputy!

"Graystar was also the mentor of Bluepaw," said Windystep. "He will need a new mentor immediately. We need our apprentices battle-ready. Cloudstorm, you have no apprentice. You shall be Bluepaw's new mentor." Briarpaw dully watched his friend slowly get up to touch noses with Cloudstorm. "Tonight," Windystep said, "I will travel to Dream Pool and receive my nine lives. Meeting dismissed." Windystep jumped down from Star Rock, and Blossomfur was immediately at his side. It looked as if the two cats were heading to Dream Pool right away.

Ferntail was sitting next to Briarpaw. She gently nudged him and they walked toward Graystar's body. Orchidpaw was already there. The three cats, plus Cedarheart and Sandstripe, Graystar's other kits, would spend the night saying their good-byes to their beloved Graystar.

Rosepaw blinked her eyes open and surveyed the apprentice den. It had been a little over a moon since the fateful rogue attack. Rosepaw had just been on the new moonhigh patrol and none of the cats on the patrol had gotten a sniff of the rogues. They seemed to have disappeared, but Windystar would not let his guard down. The Clan was exhausted from the extra patrols, but every cat from Kinkedwhisker to Goldenkit knew that the Clan must be protected: they would not allow another surprise massacre.

The apprentice den was mostly empty. The only other cats in the den were Orchidpaw (who had been on night guard duty with her mentor) and the newest apprentice, Slashpaw. Rosepaw gently prodded the silver apprentice with a forepaw. Since Hazelpaw and Otterpaw – now Hazeltail and Otterpelt – had become warriors, Rosepaw had taken over their duty of helping out the new apprentices.

Slashpaw slowly opened his strange red eyes.

"Wake up," Rosepaw whispered, trying not to wake Orchidpaw. "Windystar will be waiting."

The Clan leader had chosen to mentor the half-loner cat himself, despite the fact that some cats distrusted him for his parentage. _Of course,_ thought Rosepaw to herself, _it could be for that very reason that Windystar took him on: to prove that he has no doubts about Slashpaw's loyalty._

"Thanks, Rosepaw," Slashpaw muttered. Rosepaw nodded and left him to groom his pelt. She stepped into the camp and was met with a biting late leaf-fall wind. The sky was overcast, and seemed to convey the mood in the camp. The prey was beginning its winter hibernation and hiding away in its warm burrows. The Clan was hungry, and living in a state of constant fear of the rogues did not help the matter.

Rosepaw could see Sunstorm on the other side of the camp, discussing some matter with Windystar. Rosepaw was proud that her mentor was the deputy, but he was often busy organizing patrols and such. The apprentice decided to bring prey to the nursery while she waited for him. As she was deciding between a mouse and a starling (both way too thin for her liking), Briarpaw approached with a rabbit clamped in his jaws.

"Wow, Briarpaw!" she exclaimed. "That's huge! It's almost bigger than you!"

Briarpaw purred with pleasure.

"I'll bring that to the queens," she said. "It will feed all three of them with some to spare!"

Briarpaw set it down. "Thanks," he said.

Rosepaw purred and brushed her muzzle along his. "Graystar would be proud."

Sadness clouded the tom's eyes for a moment, but then they cleared. "I know he would," he said. "When you're done feeding the queens, do you want to see if Sunstorm and Crowflight will let us go hunting together?"

"I'd love to," Rosepaw purred. When she picked up the rabbit, she grunted in surprise at its weight. _Wow_, she thought. _Briarpaw is such a great hunter!_ _This thing could feed half the Clan!_

When she reached the nursery entrance, she set the rabbit by her paws. "Hello?" she called.

"Who's there?" called one of the queens. _Whitefeather,_ Rosepaw thought, recognizing the voice.

"It's me: Rosepaw. I've brought prey," she replied.

"Come in," said Whitefeather with a grateful purr. Rosepaw snatched up the rabbit and trotted into the nursery, her thoughts still full of the sound of Briarpaw's purr. She set the prey in the middle of the nursery.

"Briarpaw caught this," she said. "Isn't it huge?" But her spirits fell a little as she looked around the nursery. All the cats – kits included – were much thinner than they should be, even with leaf-bare approaching.

"Mother!" cried Goldenkit. "Applekit hurt me!"

"Did not!" protested Applekit.

"Kits!" snapped Sandstripe.

"They're getting sick of being cooped up inside all the time," Whitefeather mewed.

Willowfur, Rosepaw's mother, walked over to say hello. Her belly was plump with kits; they should be born within the next moon. The queen purred and bumped her nose against Rosepaw's ear. "How is your training going?" she asked.

"Wonderfully," Rosepaw replied.

"What are you going to do today?" asked the queen.

"Hopefully we're going hunting. I don't know for sure yet," Rosepaw replied.

"Hopefully?" Willowfur asked, curious.

"I want to go with Briarpaw," Rosepaw gushed. "He's such a great hunter. He's going to be an amazing warrior." All the queens purred with amusement.

"Well, you'd better run along then," said Willowfur. "You shouldn't keep him waiting."

"Bye!" Rosepaw meowed, dashing out of the den.

"There you are, Rosepaw," said Sunstorm, spotting her as she stepped into the cloudy camp.

"Hello, Sunstorm," she replied. "Can we go hunting with Briarpaw and Crowflight today?"

Sunstorm looked surprised. "I was planning to do battle training today, but I guess the prey pile _is_ getting a bit thin."

"Thank you, Sunstorm!" she cried. "You're the best."

Sunstorm let out a small purr. "Really? Even before I've told you that you and Leafpaw are going to the Gathering tonight?"

Rosepaw's meow of surprise and delight was his answer.


	8. Chapter 8

Leafpaw had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes as Rosepaw began jabbering about Briarpaw again. Leafpaw almost wished she wasn't going to the Gathering if she had to listen to _this_ all night. It was Briarpaw this, Briarpaw that. Briarpaw, Briarpaw, Briarpaw. Leafpaw couldn't see what was so great about that puny tabby.

But here she was, cantering through the chilly forest with a patrol of her Clanmates. The frosty breeze awakened her senses. The stars shone, bright and cold, and the moon illuminated the earth with a silver glow.

They soon arrived at the hollow where the Gathering was held. Two other Clans were there already; Leafpaw identified the scents of MoorClan and OakClan. Cats of all different sizes and colors were milling around in the long grass. Blossomfur and Forestpaw headed over to the other medicine cats: Nightstripe of MoorClan and Snowfall of OakClan.

Almost immediately after the PineClan cats arrived, CliffClan's patrol dashed into the clearing. Their leader, Whitestar, and deputy, Mossfur, pushed their way to the front. Sunstorm and Windystar followed them to the fallen tree that the leaders sat on to address the Gathering.

There were two trees in the hollow: a pine and an oak, both near the back. Leafpaw followed some of her Clanmates up the pine. From about midway up the tree, Leafpaw had a very good view. She studied the leaders and deputies.

OakClan's leader, Brightstar, was a pretty brown-and-white she cat. Leafpaw had heard (time and time again) complaints about OakClan, but none about Brightstar herself. Their deputy was another story. Every PineClan cat – no, make that every cat who wasn't _in_ OakClan – hated him. His name was Shadowfrost, and his dark pelt was said to mirror his heart. Shadowfrost's black fur blended into the shadows so that if you looked at him just right, you could see nothing but a pair of piercing, frosty blue eyes.

MoorClan's leader was a small tortoiseshell. His bright ginger tail made him instantly recognizable among the other cats. He was known to be very brave, yet sometimes a little rash. His level-headed deputy, Tornpelt, was said to balance him out. Tornpelt was a dark grayish-brown tom with a very scarred pelt. Leafpaw had been told that he had been roughed up by a few loners as a kit, and had no great love for any non-Clan cat.

Whitestar was a big tom with long white fur and blue eyes. He was very wise and strong. His quiet and thoughtful character was reflected in his deputy, Mossfur. Mossfur was a dark gray she-cat with bright green eyes. Leafpaw had heard once that the two were kin.

Brightstar leaped onto the fallen tree and gave a great yowl to call the cats' attention. The other three leaders jumped up beside her, and the deputies gathered in front of the log.

Brightstar spoke first. "OakClan is strong. Dewpaw and Greenpaw have become warriors. They are now known as Dewpool and Greenleaf. Brightdawn has given birth to kits: Windkit and Violetkit. OakClan has nothing else to report."

Whitestar and Redstar gave similar reports, and then it was Windystar's turn.

"PineClan remains strong," he said with great confidence. "We have one new apprentice: Slashpaw." Leafpaw heard a hiss from the crowd and zeroed in on the warrior Orangestripe. She realized that word must have gotten out about Slashpaw's parentage. "That is all," said Windystar, ignoring Orangestripe. "Gathering dismissed." Windystar proceeded to hop down from the log. He wove his way through the other three Clans, Sunstorm close behind. PineClan followed him out of the hollow and into the pines. _That was a short Gathering,_ Leafpaw thought. There was so much going on in her Clan... all of the fear from the distant rogue attack, plus the hunger of late leaf-fall. But to admit any of those weaknesses to the other Clans would be foolish. She supposed the other Clans must be the same way.

"_There_ you are!"

Bluepaw turned around. A very angry-looking Cloudstorm was stalking toward him.

"Hello," Bluepaw said.

"Don't you play innocent with me!" the warrior growled. "I thought I told you to hunt around the initiation site?"

"I didn't feel like it," Bluepaw said truthfully. He scraped some dirt over his freshly-caught mouse and trotted over to the Willow Pool to get a quick drink. Cloudstorm hissed, lashing his tail in frustration.

"Get back to camp," he ordered. "Bring your prey to the elders and fetch new moss for them."

"But can't we do battle training?"

"No! While you're at it, see if Blossomfur has any mouse bile for you to use to get the ticks off of the elders."

"Ew! I don't want --"

"I don't care! Maybe next time you will do as you're told! Go!"

Bluepaw was suddenly obedient. He picked up his mouse and walked toward camp, head hanging low. Cloudstorm wondered what he had done to make his pawful of an apprentice feel ashamed of his actions. It was uncharacteristic for the warrior to be so short-tempered, but Bluepaw had a way of getting on his nerves.

Bluepaw trudged toward camp, his paws feeling heavy. Cloudstorm telling him to hurry up and leave had reminded him of Graystar urging him to run back to camp.

The battle still haunted Bluepaw. For some time after the rogues attacked, every time he closed his eyes, he saw claws and blood, and worst of all, Graystar's blank eyes and the unmoving bodies of the other two warriors. When he was alone in the forest, when it was quiet, he could hear shrieks of pain and fury echoing in his mind. Graystar's last words to him rang in his ears. He should have been a better apprentice. He should have let Graystar know how much he really had cared for him If only he had run faster to get help, or even stayed and fought. It was his fault. It was all his fault.

"Bluepaw?"

The apprentice's head snapped up. Leafpaw was standing a few rabbit hops away, at the edge of the training hollow.

"What are you doing all by yourself?" she asked. "Windystar said that all apprentices had to be with a warrior outside of camp."

Bluepaw dropped his mouse. "I could ask you the same question," he snapped, his guilt making him angry easily.

Leafpaw purred in amusement. "True," she said. "But Marshpelt is nearby." She waved her tail, pointing to the place her mentor had disappeared to. "He thought he smelled a squirrel."

"Leafpaw!" The huge brown warrior stepped into the hollow. "Oh. Bluepaw." Marshpelt nodded at Bluepaw in greeting. "Perfect. Leafpaw, you head back to camp with Bluepaw. I'm going with the sunhigh patrol. Whitespot just came by. He was assigned to go, but apparently Willowfur is kitting. I'm filling in for him." He disappeared into the shadows again.

"Oh! This is wonderful!" Leafpaw cried. "Willowfur is kitting! I can't wait to see the kits – oh, I hope she's okay!"

"Why don't we go see," Bluepaw said, picking up his mouse. The two apprentices dashed through the pines and into camp.

"There you are, Leafpaw!" said Daisyheart.

"Has Willowfur had her kits yet?" asked Leafpaw.

"No. Blossomfur and Forestpaw are in there with her now," said Daisyheart. "Rosepaw is waiting outside of the nursery. You should go join her."

"All right," said Leafpaw. "Coming, Bluepaw?"

"No," said the blue apprentice. "I have to bring this mouse to the elders, put bile on their ticks, and clear away their soiled bedding."

"Ouch," said Leafpaw. "What did you do this time?"

Bluepaw muttered something about the elders needing to be cared for, scooped up his catch, and stalked away.

"Hey," Leafpaw said, catching up to him. "I'm sorry, okay?"

Bluepaw didn't reply. Why did everyone always assume he had gotten into trouble?

_Because you always _are _in trouble,_ a truthful voice inside his head answered.

_Shut up_, Bluepaw growled mentally.

"Would you like some help with the elders?" Leafpaw offered. Bluepaw saw that she was trying to make up, so he softened.

"What about your mother?"

"She'll be fine," Leafpaw replied. "Blossomfur and Forestpelt are great medicine cats. I think it will be a while before the kits are born." She sighed. "And Rosepaw doesn't seem to need any company." Bluepaw glanced toward the nursery. Just as he suspected, Briarpaw was sitting very close to Leafpaw's sister. Bluepaw rolled his eyes. Lately, Briarpaw had been going on and on about Rosepaw. With him, it was Rosepaw this, Rosepaw that. Rosepaw, Rosepaw, Rosepaw. Bluepaw couldn't see what was so great about the she-cat.

While Bluepaw dabbed ticks the ticks on Runningbelly's pelt with mouse bile, Leafpaw had gone to fetch fresh moss for bedding. Surprisingly, the other apprentice hadn't offered to do his job.

"You're done," Bluepaw said to the sandy-colored elder.

"Are you sure?" asked Runningbelly. "My flank itches."

"That's a flea," said Bluepaw, after investigating.

"Well?" said Runningbelly. "Aren't you going to kill it?"

"Cloudstorm said to check the elders for _ticks_," Bluepaw said. "He never said anything about _fleas._" Bluepaw heard Shreddedear's amused purr over Runningbelly's hiss.

"Fine," the elder snapped. "I'll get it myself."

When Bluepaw started toward Shreddedear, the tom said, "I'm fine. Thank you, Bluepaw."

"What about Kinkedwhisker?" The extremely old queen was sleeping nearby.

"I'm sure she'll be okay," said the dark gray tom.

Leafpaw arrived, and the two apprentices swapped the elders' dirty bedding with fresh moss. Bluepaw and Leafpaw exited the elders den a lot faster than Bluepaw had hoped.

"Thanks, Leafpaw," he said.

"No problem," said the she-cat. "I'm going to go check how Willowfur is doing." She dashed toward the nursery. Bluepaw followed more slowly. After waiting for a little while, Forestpelt (who had recently received his medicine cat name) poked his head out of the den.

"Everyone is fine," he said. "The kits are born. Three toms." Leafpaw and Rosepaw both got to their paws.

"Can we come in?" asked Rosepaw. "I want to see my brothers."

"Not yet," said Forestpelt. "It's very crowded in there. Sandstripe and Whitefeather and the kits aren't allowed to come out."

"But I want to see them!" Leafpaw protested.

Forestpelt sighed. "At least wait until Blossomfur and I leave."

"Fine," said Rosepaw, reluctantly sitting back down next to Briarpaw.

"Hello." Orchidpaw approached the huddle of apprentices around the nursery. After glancing contemptuously at Bluepaw, she asked, "What's going on?" It looked as if Orchidpaw and Slashpaw had just gotten back from training.

As Leafpaw explained about Willowfur and her kits, Bluepaw caught Slashpaw's eye. The younger cat nodded in greeting, his red eyes shining in the sun.

With a jolt, Bluepaw remembered the rogue leader's eyes: they were red, like Slashpaw's. But he also remembered the other time he had seen a pair of fiery red eyes like those. It was many moons ago, when Silvertail had died. Doom, the loner, had come to see his son for the first time.

Both cats were small, with a scarred black pelt, long claws, and huge fangs.

The leader of the rouges – Graystar's murderer – was Slashpaw's father.


	9. Chapter 9

Slashpaw sat outside in the rain.

Yesterday his whole world had been turned upside-down once again. He remembered training with Orchidpaw. He remembered coming back to camp and heading to the nursery to see what was going on. He remembered Leafpaw explaining to Orchidpaw that Willowfur was kitting. Then Bluepaw had gotten up and headed toward Windystar's den. He had thought that Bluepaw was sick because of the look on his face.

Then everything became fuzzy, like everything had happened so fast that Slashpaw's brain couldn't keep up.

The news that Slashpaw was the son of Graystar's murderer had spread through camp unnaturally quickly. The cats that had distrusted him before because his father was a loner now couldn't stand to be near him. The fact that he was the son of a _murdering_ loner was too much for them. A few cats treated him as if Slashpaw himself had struck the killing blows that had felled the warriors.

_I'm not a murderer!_ he longed to yell. _And neither is my father._

It wasn't that Slashpaw thought Bluepaw was _lying_ about the rogue's identity, but there must have been a mistake. Slashpaw couldn't believe that Doom was a cold-blooded killer. His mother wouldn't fall in love with someone like that. There had to have been a mistake. Bluepaw had missed something.

"Slashpaw." The apprentice looked up. His mentor, the Clan leader, was standing next to him. "Come. We're going hunting. Let's see what we can catch for the queens."

"Sandstripe won't touch anything _I_ catch," Slashpaw said bitterly. "She hasn't forgiven me for killing her father."

"She hasn't forgiven _you_ for killing her father?" asked Windystar, surprised.

"That's the way she acts," Slashpaw said. "Windystar, why do they hold _me_ responsible for the actions of my parents?"

Windystar sighed. "I don't know. I guess they're just hurting from losing three warriors, including their leader. They want someone to pin the blame on."

Slashpaw got up and followed Windystar in silence.

"Cedarheart! Otterpelt!" Windystar cried. The two toms looked up. "Come hunting."

"With _him_?" Cedarheart said, indicating Slashpaw.

"Yes, with Slashpaw," Windystar growled. "Or are you going to disobey an order from your leader?"

Otterpelt sighed. "No, Windystar. We'll come." The warriors joined the mentor and apprentice duo, but Slashpaw noticed that Cedarheart kept his distance.

As the four cats trudged through the forest, a cold wind blew, making Slashpaw shiver.

Otterpelt caught a mouse, and Windystar a squirrel. Prey was hard to come by; all the animals with any sense were down in their warm burrows.

Slashpaw looked up. The wind was carrying a familiar scent. The other cats hadn't noticed yet. _Not now!_ Slashpaw thought in horror. But there was no way to warn him....

Cedarheart's head jerked up. His eyes narrowed, and he hissed.

Doom came into view.

"Hello," said the loner. "Oh! Slashpaw!" He purred. "And Windystep! It's good to see you."

With a screech of fury, Cedarheart launched himself at the loner, teeth bared, claws gleaming.

Doom yowled in shock as Cedarheart dug his claws into his pelt, but he began to fight back. Otterpelt joined the fray, clawing furiously at Doom.

"Stop!" shouted Windystar. "Cedarheart! Otterpelt! Stop this instant!" The two warriors reluctantly backed off, but did not sheathe their claws. Doom stared at the two warriors in surprise and anger.

"May I ask what I have done to receive such a welcome?" he asked, lashing his tail.

Otterpelt hissed, and Cedarheart said, "How _dare_ you!"

Doom turned to Windystar. "Windystep, maybe you will answer my question."

"Windy_star_," Otterpelt corrected.

"Windystar?" asked Doom, red eyes widening. "But what happened to Graystar?"

Cedarheart shrieked in rage and launched himself at the loner once again. Windystar had to drag the warrior off of Doom.

"Let me go, Windystar!" Cedarheart hissed. "I'll tear him to pieces!"

"Cedarheart – "

"Murderer!" Cedarheart screeched. "Murderer! I'll kill you!"

Doom fluffed out his coat. "Murderer! How dare you accuse me of such a thing?"

"You killed Graystar!" Cedarheart hissed. "You killed my father!"

"And Mothflight and Littlestream," Otterpelt added, eyes narrow. "Mothflight was my mother's sister."

Doom turned to Windystar again. "Please explain."

"Like he doesn't know," Cedarheart muttered.

"About two moons ago," Windystar began, "a patrol of PineClan warriors – Graystar, Bluepaw, Mothflight, and Littlestream – was attacked by a band of rogues. Bluepaw said that the leader of these rogues was a small, scarred black cat with red eyes."

Doom's eyes widened. "But –"

"Stop playing innocent!" Otterpelt growled. "We know you killed our warriors. If it was up to me, you would be dead." He looked to Windystar for instructions.

"I assure you I had nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, yes, of course," growled Cedarheart. "It was that _other _small black tom with red eyes that looks exactly like you."

"Silence," Windystar snapped. "Doom is coming to camp with us until I decide what to do with him." He looked sternly at Cedarheart and Otterpelt. "No cat is to touch him unless I say so. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Windystar," said Otterpelt.

"Cedarheart?"

The warrior was silent.

"Would you dare defy my orders, Cedarheart?" Windystar said. "I think that would be something that Graystar would definitely _not _approve of."

"Fine," the warrior growled.

Windystar lead the way back to camp, Slashpaw at his side. Doom was behind them, and the other two took the rear. Slashpaw wasn't sure what to think. Doom had acted innocently enough, but he could easily be lying. If his father really was a murderer, Slashpaw wanted nothing to do with him.

Most cats were still inside of their warm dens when the patrol returned to camp.

"Sunstorm!" Windystar cried. The ginger deputy emerged from the warrior den after only a brief delay.

"What is it, Windystar?" His eyes widened as he saw Doom. "Is that –"

"Yes, this is Doom," the leader said. "Make sure that every cat knows that he is not to be harmed without my orders. Find Crowflight: he will be on guard duty first." Sunstorm nodded briskly and disappeared back into the den.

Slashpaw spent the day as he normally would: training with Windystar and doing the regular apprentice chores. But thoughts of his father kept bothering him, like a swarm of bees buzzing around in his head. As he stopped at the fresh-kill pile, he saw where his father was being held. There was a nice, big patch of brambles that made an alley between the Windystar's den and the medicine cat's den. Hawkscar was currently on guard duty at the narrow mouth of the alley, and Slashpaw noticed that Hawkscar was very bored. The rain had let up, and Slashpaw could see that the young warrior was eager to stretch his legs in the forest. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Hawkscar!" he called, padding up to the ginger-and-white tom.

"What, loner?" snarled Hawkscar. Slashpaw forced his fur to say flat, although anger at the insult seared through him.

"Braveheart sent me," he meowed evenly. "He's coming to take over guard duty, and he said you could leave."

"Oh, really?" asked Hawkscar.

"Yes," said Slashpaw, holding the warrior's gaze. He could see that Hawkscar didn't trust him, but the warrior wanted to leave very badly.

"Fine, then." Hawkscar finally got to his paws, shook himself off, and left. Slashpaw breathed a silent sigh of relief and padded over to his father.

"Slashpaw," Doom greeted him, his eyes lighting up at the sight of his son.

"Hello," Slashpaw said. "I need to talk to you."

"All right then," said Doom. "I'm listening."

"Did you kill Graystar, Mothflight, and Littlestream?" said Slashpaw without hesitation.

"No," said the black tom, keeping eye contact with the apprentice.

"Did you lead the patrol of rogues that attacked them?"

"No."

"Did you have anything to do with it?"

"No."

Slashpaw relaxed. "I believe you."

After a pause, Doom said, "Do they always treat you like that?"

"Like what?"

"He called you 'loner.'"

"Oh, that," Slashpaw looked away. "It's been getting worse, now that they think you murdered those cats."

Doom was silent for a while. "Slashpaw, I have to get out of here."

"What? Why?"

"Your Clanmates are going to kill me," said Doom.

"But I believe you, and I think Windystar will too. They won't hurt you if Windystar says not to."

Doom sighed. "But what is Windystar going to say that will convince the kin of those warriors who died? They want revenge for their loved ones' death. They want blood. And how could Windystar declare me innocent without making his own son look like a liar? From what I've heard, Bluepaw said the leader of the rogues was small, black, and scarred with red eyes, long claws, and huge teeth. That's me, through and through."

"So you have to leave," Slashpaw said sadly. Now that he knew his father was innocent, he wanted Doom to stick around for a while.

"Come with me, Slashpaw," Doom urged.

"Come with you?" Slashpaw repeated, shocked. Leave the Clan? He had been born and raised with these cats. How could he abandon Windystar, Crowflight, and Briarpaw?

And yet, what did these cats care for him? Hawkscar's sneering face flashed through his memory, along with Cedarheart and Otterpelt's looks of disgust when they had been forced to be on the same hunting patrol as them.

"Please, Slashpaw," said Doom. "You're all I have."

Slowly, Slashpaw nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

Heatherkit was dreaming.

"Heatherkit," a voice called. The kit opened her eyes and looked up. A beautiful queen with strangely familiar blue-gray fur sat beside her.

"Who are you?" asked the kit. "And why do you have stars in your fur?"

"I am a warrior of DreamClan," said the queen. "You are dreaming. Come. I have something important to show you." Heatherkit obediently followed the queen out of the nursery, through the camp, and into the forest.

"Wow," said Heatherkit, studying her surroundings. "I've never been out of camp before."

The DreamClan queen purred. "Come now, Heatherkit. We don't have much time, and a lot of ground to cover."

Frost crunched underneath Heatherkit's paws as she trotted along. How Heatherkit could see strange trees in the distance. They had very long trunks and all the leaves were bunched up at the top instead of having needles around most of the tree. As she watched, the territory around the odd trees grew dark. The darkness, like liquid shadows, began spreading across the ground, rushing toward Heatherkit and her guide. Heatherkit felt cold dread seeping into her heart.

"Look to the sky," the starry queen murmured. Heatherkit looked up into the sparkling heavens. One star was especially bright. Heatherkit realized it was growing -- no, it was falling! The star was falling toward the forest!

Heatherkit had to squint against the white brightness as the star approached. The wind roared, and Heatherkit dug her claws into the ground to keep from being blown off balance. She realized that as the star grew closer, the shadows that had been creeping across the forest floor were being burned away.

When the last of the shadows was gone, the wind stopped, and Heatherkit realized that she was back in her nest in the PineClan nursery. All the other cats were asleep. The DreamClan queen's voice rang in her ears: "DreamClan is always with you, Heatherkit. Remember what you have seen. Remember...."

It was now evening, and Heatherkit was watching her siblings wrestle with Applekit and Goldenkit.

"Heatherkit," said Whitefeather, beckoning the kit closer with her tail.

"Yes, Whitefeather?" asked Heatherkit.

"What is wrong? Why don't you want to play with the other kits?" Heatherkit could see concern in her mother's eyes. The truth was that her dream had been bugging her, and she hadn't felt like playing with Skykit, Frostkit, and the others.

"I'm just tired," she lied, instantly feeling guilty. She didn't like to lie – especially to her mother – but she also didn't feel that the dream was something to be shared. It was personal; meant only for her.

"Are you feeling sick?" asked Whitefeather, the gentle concern in her eyes changing to fearful worry. Heatherkit knew that it was dangerous for kits to catch an illness, especially in such cold weather where healing herbs were in short supply.

"I'm fine," said Heatherkit.

"Maybe you should see Blossomfur anyway," decided Whitefeather. Despite Heatherkit's protests, the queen grabbed the kit by the scruff and carried her out into camp. About halfway across the clearing, Frostkit began calling for Whitefeather. With a sigh, the white cat set Heatherkit down.

"I'd better go see what the trouble is," she said. "You go to the medicine cat's den, all right? It's that one, over there. Do you see it? Good. Tell Blossomfur that you haven't been feeling well, and that I'll be right there, okay?" Heatherkit nodded and her mother left. She padded across the clearing and stopped outside of the medicine cat's den. Suddenly, she was very nervous. Heatherkit listened and realized she could hear voices inside the den. It seemed that Blossomfur and Forestpelt were talking.

"Blossomfur, I've had a strange dream," the younger cat was saying.

"Really? When?"

"Last night," Forestpelt said. Heatherkit stiffened. That was when she had seen the fallen star in her own dream! "It was a prophecy from DreamClan."

"Please tell me," Blossomfur said.

"It was – it was Mothflight," Forestpelt said. "She gave me the prophecy."

Both cats were silent for a moment. Heatherkit remembered that Blossomfur and Daisyheart – Forestpelt's mother – were both sisters of Mothflight.

"Go on," Blossomfur finally said, her voice full of emotion.

"She told me this: 'Seven strong warriors, brave and true, will rid the forest of blood forever'. Do you have any idea what that could mean? 'Seven strong warriors' ... 'rid the forest of blood forever'... do you think it has anything to do with the rogues? Will these seven warriors defeat them and, by stopping the fighting, rid the forest of blood?"

"I don't know, Forestpelt," Blossomfur sighed.

"Why must DreamClan's prophecies be so vague?" cursed Forestpelt.

Just then, Heatherkit heard a yowl from nearby. Smokefang was emerging from the alleyway between Blossomfur's den and Windystar's den, eyes wide with shock. Blossomfur and Forestpelt rushed out of their den, not noticing Heatherkit.

"It's the loner, Doom!" Smokefang gasped. "He's gone!" The Clan, which had gathered to see what the fuss was about, yowled in shock and horror.

"The evil, fox-hearted sneak!"

"How did he escape?"

"He'll kill us all!"

A loud yowl cut across the panicked voices. All the cats turned to face Windystar as he approached.

"What is going on here?" he asked. "And where is Slashpaw?"

Leafpaw looked at Rosepaw.. "This is it," she said.

It was a few days after the disappearance of Slashpaw and Doom. The territory had been searched far and wide, but there was no sign of the two cats. Some cats were nothing but relieved that the two cats were gone. Others who had been close to Slashpaw were devastated.

Today was the warrior ceremony for Leafpaw and her sister. The whole Clan was gathering under Star Rock. Whitefeather was inside the nursery watching over Willowfur's new kits – Mousekit, Tanglekit, and Wolfkit – so that Willowfur could watch her daughters become warriors.

"Rosepaw, Leafpaw," said Windystar, "please join me on Star Rock." The sisters, nudged forward by their father, got to their paws and padded through the crowd of PineClan cats. They leaped gracefully onto Star Rock.

The Clan leader raised his dark green eyes to the sky above. "I, Windystar, leader of PineClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." Then his gaze rested upon the apprentices. "Leafpaw, Rosepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your lives?" Leafpaw's heart pounded as she responded.

"I do." She tried to put all of her loyalty and conviction into these two simple words.

"I do," said Rosepaw, her blue eyes shining as bright as the sun.

"Then by the powers of DreamClan I give you your warrior names: Leafpaw, from this moment you will be known as Leafwhisper. DreamClan honors your bravery and your courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of PineClan." Windystar rested his muzzle upon Leafwhisper's head, and she gave his shoulder a quick lick. She then leapt down lightly and rejoined the rest of the Clan.

"Rosepaw," Windystar continued, "from this moment you will be known as Roseheart. DreamClan honors your caring nature and your loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of PineClan." Windystar lowered his muzzle to rest it upon the new warrior's head as he had done with Leafwhisper, and Roseheart licked his shoulder respectfully.

"Leafwhisper! Roseheart! Leafwhisper! Roseheart!" the Clan cried. Leafwhisper's heart felt like it would burst. She was full of love for her Clanmates, and so grateful for the respect that she could see in their eyes.

"I'm so proud of you two," purred Whitespot when Roseheart came to join her sister.

"Warriors!" Willowfur exclaimed as she approached. "Just think! My girls are warriors!"

"Leafwhisper." The new warrior turned at the sound of her new name. Her former mentor, Marshpelt, had walked up behind her.

"Is it time for the initiation?" she asked.

"Yes," said the brown warrior. "Come. Roseheart, you too."

The sisters followed Marshpelt to where Sunstorm was waiting near the entrance. Leafwhisper reviewed what she knew about the initiation in her head as they traveled through the forest. She knew that after the warrior ceremony (held at dusk), the new warrior's mentor was to bring her to the initiation site (in PineClan's case, a large tree stump near the Gathering hollow). The new warrior was to sit on the stump until dawn and keep watch over the territory.

"There it is," Sunstorm said, gesturing to a stump with his tail.

"Now remember, Leafwhisper, Roseheart," said Marshpelt with a stern look at the two, "absolutely _no_ talking until dawn." With that, the huge brown tom melted into the shadows.

Leafwhisper followed her sister to the tree stump. She leaped on top of it and sat down next to Roseheart.

"Good luck," Sunstorm meowed before following Marshpelt into the darkness.

A cool breeze tugged at Leafwhisper's fur. Her heart was content as she scanned the trees. She and her sister were finally warriors of PineClan.


	11. Chapter 11

"Wake up, Slashpaw," Doom said, nudging his son with a forepaw. Slashpaw blinked open his eyes. He sighed inwardly. This crude nest that he shared with his father wasn't nearly as comfortable as his old nest in the PineClan apprentice den. Slashpaw got to his paws and stifled a groan. His muscles were sore from traveling so far and so fast. When he and Doom had left the camp, they had traveled almost nonstop until they reached the Twolegplace. He retraced the journey in his mind. The two had traveled west out of PineClan territory and skirted the northern edge of CliffClan hunting grounds. Then they had gone across a large field. They had stopped for a few hours of sleep in a big red Twoleg nest. Slashpaw remembered the strange bleating and lowing noises of the animals there: creatures Doom had called "sheep" and "cows". Then they had continued west. More and more Twoleg nests had appeared, until they had arrived at the Twolegplace.

Slashpaw didn't like it here.

It was noisy. There were too many Twolegs and their dogs. There were strange Twoleg things everywhere, and places called "roads" on which traveled scary "cars". Everything was cramped. The air was stale and full of the acrid stench of the cars and Twolegs.

Slashpaw missed the fresh breeze and the scent of pine trees. He missed the quiet serenity of the forest, where often the loudest sound was birdsong. He missed the other apprentices and his mentor.

"Doom?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Why do you live _here_?"

"I know it's unlike the forest," Doom said slowly, "but this is where I was born and raised. Yet I do like to travel around and see new places. That's how I met Silvertail." He looked at Slashpaw. "You don't like it here, do you?" he asked.

"You're right," said Slashpaw. "It's so unlike the forest, as you said. It's so strange and loud and crowded here."

Doom was silent for a moment. "We could try to live somewhere else," he suggested. "We could go back to that farm we stayed at. Or there is another farm west of here, and then a big forest."

"A forest?" asked Slashpaw.

"It would mean more traveling," Doom warned. "But we could try to live there."

"Can we?" Slashpaw asked excitedly. "I'd take that over this Twolegplace any day!"

Doom purred. "We leave tomorrow."

"Ouch!"

Orchidpaw looked up. Briarpaw was hopping up and down on three paws, holding out one forepaw and shaking it around.

She had to stifle a purr of amusement. "What did you do now? You're as clumsy as a lopsided badger!"

Briarpaw stopped hopping around long enough to glare at his sister. "Am not! I just stepped on a thorn, that's all."

Orchidpaw got to her paws. "Let me see." She padded over to her brother, who tilted his paw to show her the thorn embedded in his pad.

Orchidpaw grimaced. "Ouch. That looks bad. You'd better see Blossomfur."

"It's just a thorn!" Briarpaw protested.

"Come on," Orchidpaw said, rolling her eyes. "It's in there really deep." She finally convinced Briarpaw to come with her and they both headed to the medicine cat den.

"Blossomfur?" called Orchidpaw as she stuck her head into the den.

"Hello, Orchidpaw," said the she-cat. "Come in. What can I do for you?"

"It's Briarpaw," said the apprentice. "He's got a thorn in his paw."

"Oh? Come here, Briarpaw. Let me see." Briarpaw reluctantly hobbled over to the medicine cat.

Blossomfur examined the thorn. "It's in there pretty deep. Forestpelt, could you get me some cobwebs? And a little marigold won't hurt either." Orchidpaw looked over her shoulder. She hadn't noticed Forestpelt – he was sitting in the shadows at the back of the den, apparently sorting herbs, along with Heatherkit. Orchidpaw felt hot under her fur when she remembered that she used to have a crush on him when she was a kit. _How could I have been so stupid?_ she thought to herself. _He's a medicine cat, anyway. They can't have mates._

After a moment, Forestpelt approached Blossomfur – leaves in his mouth and a forepaw wrapped with cobwebs. Heatherkit was trailing along after him, with one marigold leaf in her mouth.

"Here you are," he said. "Blossomfur, we should probably check to see if we can go out to gather any last herbs before the frost kills them all off."

Blossomfur nodded. She gripped the thorn in her teeth and pulled it out sharply. Briarpaw gave a little squeak of pain, and Orchidpaw had to stifle a meow of laughter once again. Forestpelt chewed up the marigold (including Heatherkit's leaf) into a poultice and smeared it over the wound. Blossomfur then wrapped Briarpaw's paw tightly with cobwebs.

"There you go, you're all set," she said. Orchidpaw felt a flash of respect for the medicine cat. She was always so kind and friendly, plus she was very good at her job. She always seemed confident in her abilities, and she knew exactly which herbs to use for every type of sickness and injury.

"Off you go, Heatherkit," said Blossomfur. "Whitefeather is probably looking for you." When Heatherkit looked a bit crestfallen, she added, "You've been a great help. Thank you."

"Bye," the kit purred, tail waving happily in the air. She skipped out of the den, toward the nursery.

"You're just encouraging her," Forestpelt said to his mentor. "You know full well she can't be a medicine cat, no matter how much she wants to."

"I know," sighed Blossomfur. "But I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"Blossomfur," Orchidpaw said after a brief silence, "if you and Forestpelt are going out to find herbs, you'll probably need a warrior escort. Doom's out there again, and I don't think Windystar would like you to go alone. I bet Stripefur and I can go with you."

"An apprentice on a _warrior_ escort?" Forestpelt said teasingly.

Blossomfur shot a warning look at her apprentice, then turned to Orchidpaw. "That would be wonderful. Thank you, Orchidpaw. Forestpelt, you go with Orchidpaw to find Stripefur and ask her to escort us. I'll be with you in a moment. Now, Briarpaw, you'll need to stay off that paw for a little while..."

"Come on," Forestpelt said, leading Orchidpaw out of the den. "Now, where's your mentor?"

Orchidpaw scanned the camp. Willowfur, Whitefeather, Sandstripe, and the newest queen, Brookfur, were sitting outside, keeping a close eye on their kits as they enjoyed a rare outing from the nursery. Moosefur and Ferntail were sharing a piece of prey nearby.

"There she is," said the apprentice, spotting Stripefur at last. The two cats walked over to where Orchidpaw's mentor was. Stripefur looked up from sharing tongues with her brother Cloudstorm.

"Hello, Orchidpaw, Forestpelt," she said.

"Hello, Stripefur," Forestpelt said. "Blossomfur and I were looking to go gather herbs and stock up for leaf-bare, and Orchidpaw here volunteered your services for a warrior escort."

"Oh did she now?" purred Stripefur. "Well, I guess we could go along. But it seems as if we should have more than one warrior on our _warrior_ escort."

Orchidpaw rolled her eyes. Why did she ever say the words "warrior escort"?

"I could come!" Orchidpaw looked over to see who had spoken. It was Roseheart. The warrior (with three whole sunrises under her belt) seemed eager to go on a "warrior mission".

Stripefur's whiskers twitched in amusement. "Of course you can come, Roseheart."

"Oh, thank you!" Roseheart purred. "So what are we doing?"

"I'm here," Blossomfur said as she approached. "Wow, what a big escort!"

"I'm not going along," said Cloudstorm as he got to his paws. "I'm off to find that lazy lump Bluepaw. Good luck on finding herbs." The warrior trotted away.

"Herbs?" asked Roseheart, sounding underwhelmed.

"Yes, herbs," Forestpelt said, flicking his tail. "We never said we were going to raid the OakClan camp or anything."

"Oh well," Roseheart said with a sigh.

"Let's go, then," said Stripefur, leading the patrol of cats out of the camp. "So, Blossomfur, what are we looking for?"

"Marigold, mostly, but we will need to stock up on as many herbs as possible," said the medicine cat. "There's a huge clump of marigold down near the OakClan border, and then I was thinking we could head up to the abandoned Twoleg nest and pick the last of the catmint."

Stripefur lead the cats south, past the Death Tree. Forestpelt found some juniper berries, and now his mouth was full, preventing him from talking (which Orchidpaw found was an improvement).

"Wait," Roseheart said. "What's that scent?"

Stripefur and Blossomfur sniffed the air. Forestpelt dropped his berries.

"Is that ... is that..." he stammered.

A small black tom stepped out of the shadows.

"You!" Roseheart hissed.

"Doom!" Stripefur growled.

"Yes, it is me, Doom," the cat said silkily.

"Where's Slashpaw?" Orchidpaw piped up. "What have you done with him?"

"Slashpaw?" said the rogue lazily. "Oh, I killed him, of course." Orchidpaw froze in horror.

"You monster!" Forestpelt hissed. "You killed your own son?!"

"I care for kin no more than I cared for your precious leader," laughed Doom. His eyes found Blossomfur. "Or that scrawny brown she-cat... she was a particular pleasure to kill."

With a shriek, the medicine cat leaped at Doom, claws out.

"Blossomfur, no!" screeched Stripefur.

Doom easily dodged the she-cat, and twisted around, claws outstretched.

"No!" screamed Forestpelt. The medicine cat was flung across the clearing, hitting a large tree with a sickening thud. Forestpelt and Roseheart both threw themselves forward, but they each ran to a different cat. Forestpelt was rushing toward his mentor, while Roseheart was moving in for the attack.

"Orchidpaw, come on," Stripefur said, running forward to help the young warrior. Orchidpaw followed. After some flying fur and screeches of pain, the three she-cats managed to pin the rogue down.

"Help!" Forestpelt cried. "I need cobwebs _now_!"

"Get out of here," hissed Stripefur at the rogue. "And never _ever _come back." She and Roseheart got off of Doom, and, surprisingly, he left. "Orchidpaw, Roseheart, go find cobwebs, and be quick!"

Breathing heavily, Orchidpaw nodded and rushed off, ignoring the stinging pain of a fresh wound on her shoulder.

_Please, please, _she thought. _DreamClan, please let me find cobwebs!_ After what seemed like forever, she spotted a silvery bundle of precious cobwebs. She hurriedly wrapped as many as she could around a forepaw and raced back to where Forestpelt was.

"Here," she panted, thrusting her paw forward. She watched as the medicine cat apprentice worked on his mentor, trying to stop the blood from welling up through a terrible claw wound in her belly.

"We need to get her back to camp," Forestpelt said. "I need my supplies."

Stripefur nodded. She and Roseheart bent down to pick up Blossomfur.

"Be careful!" Forestpelt called. "Try not to jostle her."

After what seemed like days, the group arrived at camp.

"You're back," said Briarpaw as he approached his sister on three legs. When he glimpsed Blossomfur, he gasped. "What happened?"

"Doom happened," Orchidpaw said bitterly.

"He came back?" Briarpaw asked, his jaw agape.

"Yes. And do you know what he said?"

"What?"

"He said he had killed Slashpaw!" Orchidpaw felt a pang of grief when she said it. The quiet apprentice hadn't deserved to be murdered by his own father. Her brother stared at her in shock and anger.

"Do you think Blossomfur will be alright?" asked Briarpaw after a moment.

"I don't know," she said. "We should go see if we can help."

The two apprentices sat outside of the medicine cat's den for a long while. Roseheart came to join them, sitting near to Briarpaw. Orchidpaw licked her wound clean, as did Roseheart.

At around dusk, they heard a terrible howl from inside the den. Orchidpaw leaped to her paws and rushed inside, dreading what she might find.

Forestpelt was slumped against Blossomfur, his face buried in her fur.

"Forestpelt?" Orchidpaw asked tentatively.

The tom lifted his head. His eyes looked empty.

"She's gone," he murmured. "I couldn't save her."

"I'm sorry," Orchidpaw said quietly.

The den was quiet for a moment. The silence felt heavy to Orchidpaw; saturated with grief.

"What kind of a medicine cat am I?" Forestpelt said. "I couldn't save her! I'm worthless. Oh, Blossomfur... what am I going to do without you...?"

"Forestpelt..." Orchidpaw began, not knowing what to say. She felt a cat's tail rest upon her shoulders. She looked up, startled. Daisyheart had come in without Orchidpaw hearing her.

"Go now," the queen said. "I will take care of him. Tell Windystar what has happened." Orchidpaw nodded and stepped back outside.

Roseheart and Briarpaw looked up, eager for news.

"She's dead," Orchidpaw said. Roseheart gasped in shock. "I have to go tell Windystar." Her paws felt like stones as she walked the short distance to Windystar's den.

"Hello?" she called, halting at the entrance.

"Come in," the leader said. Orchidpaw pushed her way into the small den. Windystar sat on the side opposite of her.

"Blossomfur is dead," she said, a wave of grief washing over her. Windystar hung his head.

After a moment, Orchidpaw spoke. "Did – did Stripefur tell you about Slashpaw?"

"Yes," sighed Windystar. Orchidpaw felt a stab of hatred toward Doom. He had taken five PineClan cats' lives, including her father's. Why did that rogue hate PineClan so? Would he ever stop murdering her loved ones?


	12. Chapter 12

Doom and Slashpaw halted at the edge of a long, dirt Thunderpath. Doom looked both ways down the path, ears pricked.

"Go," he said, and the two dashed across the path.

"Why was that one made of dirt?" asked Slashpaw, panting, when they were safely on the other side. "Thunderpaths -- I mean, roads -- are usually made of that hard, black stuff."

"I'm not sure," said Doom. "Look. There's the farm." Slashpaw looked, and there was indeed a farm at the bottom of the hill. There was one of those big, red buildings (Doom had called them

"barns"), plus a Twoleg den and a few other buildings. One the way down the hill, Slashpaw slipped on a patch of loose dirt and nearly fell the rest of the way down.

Doom pointed out a pond nearby, and Slashpaw followed him to get a drink. As he lapped up the cool water, he noticed some large fish swimming lazy laps through the water at the bottom of the pool.

"Doom," he said, flicking his father with his tail and gesturing to the fish. "Look. Those fish are huge!"

"Have you ever eaten fish before?" asked Doom.

"No," said Slashpaw. "Are they good?"

"You'd probably prefer mice and squirrels, like your mother," Doom said, "but I think you should try it anyway."

He peered into the pond, one paw off of the ground, tensed and ready to spring. "If you ever try to fish," he said to Slashpaw, "make sure that your shadow does not fall over the water. That would alert them to your presence. Then wait until one swims close enough, and...."

His paw flashed into the water and scooped out a fish, but somehow the fish managed to twist out of his paw and flop back into the water. Doom hissed in annoyance.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Slashpaw and Doom both whipped around. A dark tabby she-cat with thick stripes was stalking toward them, her intense blue eyes glinting angrily.

Doom drew himself up, the fur on the back of his neck standing up. "We're fishing," he said.

The she-cat, who seemed to be about a moon older than Slashpaw, lashed her tail. "I don't know who you are or where you came from, but no cat is allowed to touch the fish, rabbits, or chickens on this farm."

"We only want one," Slashpaw said. "Surely there would still be enough for you?"

The she-cat rolled her eyes. "What are you talking about? I don't want to _eat_ them. I'm protecting them." Seeing their confused stares, she went on, "Listen. The Twoleg that lives on this farm is very protective of his animals. If even one animal is missing, he will not rest until he finds the culprit. Believe me, it's much easier for all who live here if those fish are left alone." She and Doom stared at each other for a long moment until Doom gave a little nod.

"Thank you," said the she-cat. "By the way, I'm Ice." Then she sat down and began grooming herself, completely relaxed.

"I'm Doom," said Slashpaw's father, "and this is my son, Slashpaw." Ice flicked her ears in acknowledgment but said nothing.

"We'll be going, then," Doom said, taking a step toward the forest. Ice didn't react. With a confused glance back at Ice, Slashpaw trotted after his father toward the forest.

"That's one strange cat," he said.

"Yes," said Doom. "One moment she looked ready to claw our ears off, and the next she is as calm as a sleeping kit."

The two ran across the field that divided the farm from the forest. Slashpaw's heart leapt for joy when they stepped into the green sanctuary. Pine trees!

Slashpaw and Doom started hunting almost automatically. Slashpaw trailed a mouse across the forest floor, his pawsteps light, keeping to the shadows as Windystar had taught him. The thought of his mentor gave him a little pang of sadness, but he pushed it away and kept his mind on the hunt.

Slashpaw tensed, and then sprang, feeling a rush of satisfaction as his long claws met the mouse's pelt. He dug them in, pinning the helpless creature to the ground, and quickly finished it off. Doom joined him after a moment, his own prey clutched in his jaws. The two cats devoured their catches with quick, neat bites and sat back to groom themselves. Slashpaw's eyelids felt heavy with sleepiness, and he looked forward to curling up with Doom somewhere cozy.

A hiss from his father startled him out of his daydreaming, and his head snapped up. A pair of gleaming amber eyes were watching him from the shadows. Slashpaw leaped to his paws, fur standing on end.

"We're surrounded," Doom muttered. Slashpaw glanced around. Four other pairs of eyes were also trained on him and his father. Doom and Slashpaw stood side-by-side, facing in opposite directions, slowly turning to keep all the eyes in sight.

With a hoarse laugh, a huge black wolf emerged from the darkness. Slashpaw felt a thrill of fear course through him as the other four wolves also stepped into the light. There was no way the two cats could fight off _one_ wolf, let alone five!

He studied the huge canines. The first wolf was jet black with dark brown eyes. The second was a she-wolf with gray, white, and tan fur. She was the owner of the first pair of amber eyes he had seen. The next wolf was a dark gray with stormy eyes. He was the largest of the wolves and very muscular. The fourth wolf was light silver, nearly white, and her eyes were a light gray. The last wolf had hazel eyes and a coat that was white and gray and black.

"Look, it's two little kitties," the black wolf said. He glanced at the muscular dark gray wolf. "Hey Fierce, do you think cat fur would be good to line my nest with?"

"Cut it out, Fang," growled the silver she-wolf. "They're scared enough already."

"And why do you care, Imei?" asked the fifth wolf. "Ah, yes, because you'd rather go hungry than harm another animal."

"You know that's not true, Sundar," the amber-eyed she-wolf said. "She is just as fine of a hunter as the rest of us."

"Of course, Vorix," Sundar said sarcastically.

"Enough talk," said the wolf called Fierce. "Are we going to eat them or not?"

A voice cut across the bickering canines. "You're not."

Everyone turned to see the new speaker. Slashpaw's jaw dropped as he recognized the she-cat from before.

"Hello, Ice," said Fang warmly.

"Fang," Ice said, inclining her head to the black wolf. "These two cats are with me," she continued, directing the comment to all of the wolves. "Doom, Slashpaw, come on." After hesitating for a moment, Doom walked steadily toward the tabby, head held high.

Without another word, Vorix, Fierce, Sundar, and Fang melted into the shadowy forest.

Imei approached Slashpaw, who resisted the urge to shrink away, and spoke quietly into his ear, just loudly enough for him to hear. "You know where you belong, Slashpaw. Follow your heart." Then she, too, was gone, like mist dissolving into the night.

"Slashpaw?" Doom called. The apprentice turned and followed Doom and Ice, glancing over his shoulder at the place where Imei disappeared.

"How did you do that?" demanded Doom when the trio emerged from the forest.

"Do what?" asked Ice.

"Those wolves! They were going to eat us, but they just walked away when you came!"

"Oh. That." Ice flicked her tail lazily. "I saved Fang's pup once, so now we're friends. Come on, let's find a place for you to spend the night." Doom and Slashpaw exchanged glances, then followed Ice across the grassy field.

"Here we go," Ice said. She had lead Slashpaw and Doom to a large brick building. She climbed gracefully over the fence that surrounded it. Slashpaw followed, scrambling rather clumsily after her. When he and Doom hit the ground, Ice turned and trotted toward the large Twoleg building, her fur gleaming in the twilight sun. The huge front door of the barn was a bit ajar, and Ice slipped through the opening. Slashpaw hesitated. It was dark in there, and, by the smell of it, there were going to be sharing the den with a number of cows.

"Go ahead," Doom said quietly. Slashpaw nodded briskly and squeezed through the gap.

"Ice?" he called, looking around. Cows milled around in the gloomy room, flicking their tails passively. The floor was littered with straw and some other not-so-pleasant cow objects. Doom entered the barn behind Slashpaw, and began surveying the area.

"Over here," Ice called. Slashpaw turned to see the she-cat appear from behind a cow's leg. "This way," she said, waving them over with her tail. With a glance at his father, Slashpaw trotted after her, doing his best to avoid the cows' sharp hooves.

Near the far end of the barn, Ice was inside a long, wooden box. Slashpaw jumped in beside her. He realized in surprise that the box was filled with dried grass, similar to the stuff on the ground.

"What's this?" he asked, prodding a strand with his paw.

"It's called hay," Ice said as Doom climbed in beside them. "Cows eat it."

"And we're going to sleep in it?" Slashpaw asked, unsure if this was a good idea. What if the cows mistook them for food? He didn't know how sharp cows' teeth were, and he wasn't keen to find out.

"Yup," Ice said. "I do all the time. It's perfectly safe," she added, seeing the look on Slashpaw's face. She proceeded to curl up into a ball, closing her eyes and wrapping her tail over her nose. Slashpaw looked to Doom, who, after a moment of hesitation, lay down too.

Slashpaw curled up next to his father. As he drifted off, he began to wonder what Imei's words meant. Where _did_ he belong?


	13. Chapter 13

Slashpaw shivered and opened his eyes. The barn was silent, except for a few quiet cow snorts and the sound of cattle shifting. Ice was gone, and Doom was still asleep.

Judging by the streams of light that were coming in from chinks in the barn walls, it was very early morning. With a yawn, Slashpaw got to his paws and stretched, leaping lightly out of the box of hay. He slowly padded toward the barn door. The apprentice poked his head out into the frigid air and gasped in shock.

Something white – it looked like pieces of cloud – was floating down from the sky! One landed on his nose: It was cold, and after a moment it melted, leaving a small puddle of water on his snout. Slashpaw shook his head, scattering the drops of water. He looked across the field, registering that a dusting of the white stuff was coating the ground. Confused, he pulled his head back into the barn and ran back to where Doom was sleeping. After jumping into the hay, he prodded his father with a forepaw.

"Doom," he said. "Doom, wake up!"

The older cat growled softly and opened his eyes. "Slashpaw? What's wrong? Where's Ice?"

"I don't know," Slashpaw said. "But there's something strange outside. Come and see!"

With a grunt, Doom pulled himself to his paws and followed his excited son to the door. "Look!" Slashpaw said. Doom stuck his head out the gap.

With a sigh, Doom pulled his head back inside the barn. "It's snow," he said bitterly.

"What's snow?"

"It only falls in the winter – er, the season you call leafbare. And I've seen far too much of it in my lifetime," he added bitterly.

Slashpaw's ear swivelled to the left. Something was scurrying through the straw nearby. Almost without thinking, Slashpaw began to stalk it. He scented the mouse over the tang of cow droppings and the sweet smell of hay.

There it was: The rodent was nibbling on a seed only a few tail-lengths away. He crouched down on his haunches, ready to spring. Nearby, a cow shifted and snorted, startling the mouse. It scampered away across the straw. With a short hiss, Slashpaw launched himself after it, claws outstretched. Yowling in triumph, he pinned it to the floor and killed it.

"Well done, Slashpaw," Doom said as the young cat returned with the scrap of fur in his jaws. Slashpaw paused to bask in his father's praise before the two quickly devoured the mouse.

"Now what, Slashpaw?" Doom asked after a while.

"What do you mean?" asked the gray apprentice.

"We can't live in the forest," Doom said. "Fang and Vorix and the others might let us be if we're friends with Ice, but they made it sound as if there were many, many wolves that live there. I'm not willing to bet that they would be so willing to let us go."

Slashpaw's heart sank. He had come to the same conclusion, but it still was disappointing to hear that they could not live among pine trees.

"So where _are_ we going to live?" asked Slashpaw.

Doom gave a great sigh. "I don't know, Slashpaw. I don't know." The father and son sat in silence for a long while, both busy with their own thoughts.

The sun had risen over the horizon when Doom finally stood up. "Well," he said, "sitting around here won't do us much good. Let's go explore the farm. Maybe we can find Ice or some other cat and see if they know of a place we can live." Slashpaw got to his paws and followed the other cat out of the warm barn.

The cold wind bit into his pelt. It had grown thicker as the moons had grown colder, but it was no match for the fierce leafbare air. The two trotted along, then clambered over the fence that encircled the barn they had slept in. They passed a Twoleg den, and then a building that smelled of rabbits. Doom showed signs of wanting to get inside and hunt the rabbits, but Slashpaw reminded him of Ice's words. Reluctantly, Doom lead on.

The cold from the snow on the ground sank into Slashpaw's paws, making him feel awkward and clumsy. The pair skirted another fenced-off area.

"What's that smell?" asked Slashpaw.

Doom scented the air. "Horses," he replied.

"What are horses?"

"They're a bit similar to cows," Doom said. "They've got the same huge hooves, but they're a bit slimmer and more graceful. Their tails are made entirely of long hair, and they've got long hair growing off of their necks, too. Twolegs ride on their backs sometimes."

Slashpaw tried to picture this strange-sounding creature in his head, but couldn't.

Up ahead, there was a wooden building. It was a bit smaller than the barns where the horses and cows lived. Doom scented the air.

"There's a cat in there," he said. "And animals called goats." Slashpaw decided not to ask what a goat was.

As the two toms approached, the cat Doom had scented slipped out of the barn, yawning and stretching. He didn't notice them until they were only a few rabbit hops away, and then he spun around, claws out, fur fluffed up. He was a scrawny, dark gray tabby tom with thick black stripes, and he was very lanky, with long legs and a whippy tail.

"YOU!" The tom was staring at Doom, teeth bared. "I told you to stay away from here!"

"Excuse me?" asked Doom, who seemed a bit taken aback.

"You heard me!" the tabby growled. "You caused enough trouble the last time you were here!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Doom soothingly after exchanging glances with Slashpaw. "I assure you we have never met."

"But..." the other tom looked confused. His fur was starting to lie flat again. "...but you're Blood, aren't you...?"

Whatever Doom had expected, it was not this. "_Blood_?" he asked, eyes wide. "Did you say _Blood_?"

"Er, yes," said the tom. "Yes, I did. You look just like him, you know."

Slashpaw's father turned to face him, his fur sticking up. "Slashpaw, we have to go."

"What? But I thought –"

"We have to leave," Doom repeated. "We're going back to the Twolegplace." The black loner immediately began walking east, toward the hill upon which sat the dirt Thunderpath. Slashpaw followed with out a word. Doom seemed really freaked out, and it was a bit disconcerting for Slashpaw.

They were almost to the top of the hill when they heard a shout behind them.

"Hey!"

Slashpaw turned to see a familiar cat racing up the hill behind them.

"Ice!" exclaimed Slashpaw. The she-cat raced up the hill after them.

Doom stopped his ascent rather hesitantly. He still seemed very tense. "Ice," he said, "I would like to thank you for your hospitality, and for saving my life and my son's from the wolves. But we really haven't the time to chat right now. We're in a hurry."

"That won't be a problem," said Ice cheerfully, "because I'm coming with you."

Slashpaw awoke first the following morning. He yawned and sat up to begin grooming himself. The trio had crawled under a leafy bush in a Twoleg garden when they had arrived, exhausted, at the Twolegplace late last night. Slashpaw looked at Ice, who, even after many, many objections by Doom and Slashpaw, had insisted on traveling with them. Her breathing was slow and steady: She was fast asleep.

The young gray cat pushed through the leaves of the bush and into the chilly air. Yesterday, the sun had come out of the clouds around midday, melting away most of the snow. But it had snowed again during the night, covering everything with a thin layer of white. Slashpaw padded across the snow, scenting the air. Maybe he could catch breakfast before the other two awoke.

On the other end of the Twoleg garden, Slashpaw heard a rustling noise in a bush. He moved closer to investigate, and discorvered an injured robin struggling among the leaves. Its wing was bent at an odd angle, broken. The bird was unable to fly, and Slashpaw caught it easily. The apprentice quickly dispatched the robin, putting it out of its pain.

After scraping a mound of snow and earth over his catch, Slashpaw scaled the fence and dropped down into the next garden. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a squirrel dart up a nearby tree. Slashpaw raced over and shot up the trunk, digging his claws into the bark. The tree was young and therefore small, so Slashpaw had no trouble locating the squirrel among its branches. He climbed up farther and cornered the squirrel. It was on the end of a branch with nowhere to run. The apprentice carefully inched across the branch. When he was very close, the squirrel, panicking, tried to leap off the branch onto the ground below. Slashpaw was quick enough to hook it on his claws and drag it toward him, killing it swiftly. He grasped the hairy prey in his mouth and carefully climbed down the tree. Halfway down, the fluffy fur tickled his nose, making him sneeze and causing him to nearly drop his prize.

He returned to the garden where Doom and Ice were and trotted back to their bush after collecting his robin. Ice was awake and grooming herself when he pushed his head through the leafy barrier that separated their nests from the outside.

"I've got prey," he said after setting down his catches.

"I see that," said Ice.

Doom stirred at the sound of their voices. He blinked his ruby-colored eyes. "Is it morning already?" he growled. Slashpaw felt heartened. He had been a bit worried about his father since the encounter with the cat at the goat barn, but right now he seemed like the same old Doom.

The three of them split the prey and, after finishing it, crawled out from under the bush.

"Come on," said Doom, suddenly looking tense. He started toward the fence that separated the garden from the rest of the Twolegplace.

"Where are we going?" asked Ice. Doom didn't answer her. The dark tom clawed his way up the fence, followed gracefully by Ice. Slashpaw was the last to haul himself onto the top. Doom scanned the Thunderpaths, Twoleg dens, gardens, and fences that surrounded them. After a moment, he slid down onto the pavement. Ice and Slashpaw followed. After checking for monsters that Doom called cars, the trio dashed across the Thunderpath and onto the car-free stretch of pavement that ran along both sides of the Thunderpath. The last time Slashpaw and Doom were here, Doom had explained to Slashpaw that these were called "sidewalks", on which Twolegs traveled. Doom walked on, and Slashpaw followed. He had no idea where they were headed, so he just followed his father obediently. The three cats turned and climbed fences and crossed Thunderpaths and turned and climbed some more.

"Hey!"

Doom paused and looked across the Thunderpath. On the other side was a fat black kittypet, laying on top of a fence.

"Slash?" called the kittypet. "Is that you?"

"Come on," muttered Doom, waving his tail at the younger cats. After glancing in both directions, Doom rushed across the hard black pavement, Slashpaw hard on his heels. They walked up to the kittypet's fence.

"Hello, Whiskers," said Doom to the kittypet.

"Who's this?" Slashpaw asked quietly.

"Whiskers, this is my son Slashpaw and our friend Ice," said Doom. "Slashpaw, I'd like you to meet my father."


	14. Chapter 14

"Your father?" Slashpaw asked dumbly.

"Yes," said Doom. Slashpaw stared. It had been bad enough that he had loner blood in him, but now this? He had _kittypet _kin! Slashpaw decided never to tell anyone in the Clan about his part of his heritage – that is, if he ever went back there....

The fat kittypet slid down the fence and hobbled over to the threesome. He sniffed Slashpaw – almost cautiously – and then backed away.

"You smell strange," said Whiskers. _Not as strange as _you_ smell,_ thought Slashpaw with a stab of annoyance. The youngest cat studied the kittypet. He was black, with four white paws and a white-tipped tail. He had dark amber eyes that, when they caught the sun the right way, seemed to have a red gleam.

"Well," said the kittypet, "you are all much too thin. Come." Slashpaw and Ice exchanged glances. Any cat would be "much too thin" to _this _huge cat.

Doom, Slashpaw, and Ice waited while Whiskers climbed clumsily and slowly up the fence and flopped down on the other side. Then the three of them leaped up easily and descended gracefully. Whiskers lead them across the garden, tramping noisily through the grass. As they approached the Twoleg nest, Slashpaw began to feel nervous.

"Where are we going?" he asked Doom quietly.

"I imagine," said his father, "that we are going inside the house – er, the Twoleg nest."

Slashpaw stopped in his tracks, nearly causing Ice to crash into him from behind. "_Inside_?" he asked incredulously.

Whiskers stopped plowing through the snow when he noticed that the other three were no longer following him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't go in a Twoleg nest!" Slashpaw said, feeling slightly disgusted.

"Why not?" asked Whiskers, looking surprised.

"It's dishonorable!" Slashpaw exclaimed. "The Warrior Code says that a warrior rejects the life of a kittypet!"

"Warrior?" asked Doom's father. "Kittypet? Warrior Code? What are you talking about?"

The others ignored him. "Come on, Slashpaw," Doom said softly. "You're not a warrior-in-training anymore. The Code doesn't apply to you any longer. Plus, it will be warm inside."

Slashpaw had to admit that the cold from the frigid snow was seeping into his paws and making them numb.

"Come _on_, Slashpaw!" Ice said impatiently. She pushed him toward the Twoleg nest with a shove from her shoulder. Slashpaw followed her, but he felt a strange sense of dread as they approached the unnatural, square-cornered, hard-walled Twoleg nest.

Whiskers lead them through a flap at the front of the den, Ice following close behind. Slashpaw hesitated at the opening.

"It's okay, Slashpaw," said Doom quietly. "I'm right behind you." The gray cat glanced over his shoulder at his father, then nodded and leaped through the flap.

A gust of warm, dry air greeted him. He slid a bit on the slick tile flooring, then regained his balance, glancing up embarrassedly. Whiskers and Ice were standing nearby, waiting. Doom stepped inside after Slashpaw.

"This way," Whiskers said. Slashpaw and the others followed him across the tile to another room, this time with plush carpeting. Slashpaw looked around at all the strange objects that the Twolegs kept in their nest, and he suddenly felt very small and afraid. A dread of being trapped almost overcame him, but then Doom's fur lightly brushed his own as the loner moved forward to walk next to his son. Doom would let no harm come to him. He was safe as long as he was with his father.

Whiskers lead them on, turning around a corner and leading them into another tiled room.

"Thirsty?" asked the kittypet. "My water dish is right over here." The fat black cat waved his tail at one of a pair of metal bowls lying on the linoleum.

"Thanks," said Ice as she stepped forward. She quickly lapped up a few mouthfuls of water and backed away. Doom nudged Slashpaw forward and the both drank out of the bowl. Slashpaw wrinkled his nose in disgust. The water was lukewarm and tasted metallic.

"Come on," said Whiskers. "Let's get you some food." He trotted off again, saying over his shoulder, "You can't all eat out of my food dish, or else my Twolegs will think I've eaten it all, and then I won't get any supper!"

"Where _are_ your Twolegs?" asked Ice.

"They're not back yet," said Whiskers casually. "They all leave during the day."

Slashpaw, looking around the strange Twoleg nest, decided to also never let any cat in PineClan know he had been inside a Twoleg nest. He could picture Cedarheart's self-righteous sneer and Otterpelt's snort of disgust. He could hear Hawkscar's scornful voice calling him a kittypet. _No one will ever know,_ he tried to convince himself. _Doom's right. I'll probably never go back there anyway._

"Here we go," said the kittypet as they turned into another room. A giant bag stood in the corner of the room. Whiskers trotted confidently over to it and nudged it until it fell over, spilling small brown pellets all over the floor.

"Eat up!" Whiskers said, purring and looking proud of himself.

Slashpaw looked at the pellets in confusion. They were supposed to eat _these_? They looked like rabbit droppings and they smelled of Twolegs. But Ice started eating them off of the floor, and Doom did too.

"Just eat some," Doom muttered when Slashpaw hesitated. "It's polite."

Reluctantly, Slashpaw bent down and licked up a few pellets. They weren't nearly as good as a freshly caught mouse or squirrel, but they were bearable. _Another thing to add to my list of what not to tell the Clan,_ Slashpaw thought. _I'm eating kittypet food!_

Suddenly, a great slamming noise sounded from outside of the Twoleg nest, and Slashpaw jerked his head up. Ice and Doom were looking around in alarm.

"A car door!" Whiskers cried. "The female Twoleg is home! Hurry, this way!" The kittypet raced off, and Slashpaw bolted after him, terror surging through him at the thought of being captured by the Twoleg. Whiskers lead them across tile and carpet to the flap they had entered through earlier.

"Go!" Whiskers said, standing to the side of the flap. Slashpaw leaped through headfirst. When his paws landed on the cement path outside, he darted onto the snow-covered grass and shot up the fence, fear lending speed to his paws.

Doom and Ice soon joined him.

"Well," said Ice with a smirk, "you sure were in a hurry to get out of there."

Slashpaw shot her a dirty look and turned to Doom. "What now?" he panted. "We didn't come all this way just to pay a little visit to your father, did we?"

"Actually, we did," said Doom. Ice and Slashpaw both looked at him.

"Explain," said Ice, her head tilted to one side quizzically.

"I do need to talk to him," Doom said. "It's very important. But, of course, that Twoleg coming messed everything up," he spat, throwing an angry look at the car that was parked outside of the house.

"Then we'll just wait until she leaves again and then talk to Whiskers," Ice suggested.

"That's exactly what we'll do," Doom said, nodding.

"Why do you need to talk to him so badly?" asked Slashpaw, curiosity welling up inside of him again. Doom didn't answer, he just stared at the Twoleg nest with an unreadable expression on his face.

They waited and waited, and still the Twoleg didn't leave. Slashpaw and Ice explored the neighboring gardens together, but Doom didn't move from his post on the fence. Finally, with a _vroom_, a car pulled out of the driveway, the Twoleg inside.

"Come on," said Doom with a swish of his tail, and the two followed him to the Twoleg den. Just as they approached the flap at the front, Whiskers stepped out.

"Ah, there you are," he said. "Come on in. She's gone now." Doom went in first this time, and Slashpaw, not wanting to show any sign of fear in front of Ice, followed without hesitation.

When they were all inside, Doom turned to his father. "Whiskers? I need to ask you something. Something important." His deep, steady voice sounded very serious and grave as it reverberated throughout the empty hallway.

"Fire away," Whiskers said with a bored-looking yawn. Clearly Doom's sober nature had no effect on him.

"Have you seen Bl –" Doom stopped in mid-word and shook his head. "I mean, have you seen Chester lately?" Slashpaw felt a bit disappointed. Whatever he had been expecting this important question of Doom's to be, it was not this.

"No, I haven't," the kittypet drawled. "But I did hear from Max that one of you two was in the area a while ago. That wasn't you, was it?"

"No, I haven't been here in a while. It must have been Chester," Doom added to himself. "How long ago was this?"

"Hmm..." Whiskers touched his tail tip to his chin thoughtfully. "About five months ago? A little longer?"

Doom nodded. "Thank you for your help, Whiskers." He turned to Slashpaw and Ice. "Come on, you two. We have to go."

"You're leaving already?" asked the kittypet, looking surprised.

"We have important things to do," Doom said softly. "You've been a great help, Whiskers. Thank you. But we should leave before your Twolegs come back."

"All right then." Whiskers shrugged. "It's your own loss if you want to go back out into the cold."

But the trio of cats slid out the flap. The two younger ones followed Doom quietly across the snowy garden and over the fence.

"What was that all about?" asked Slashpaw.

Doom turned slowly to face him. "It's time you've heard my story."


	15. Chapter 15

"Roseheart! Catch!" Mousekit flung a scrap of moss over Tanglekit's head toward the warrior. Roseheart reached up and snagged it on her claws, purring with amusement as Tanglekit pounced on her, trying to get the moss.

It was snowing lightly, and Wolfkit was nearby, batting at the falling flakes with tiny paws, his green eyes lit up. Roseheart was watching the kits while Willowfur went on a quick hunt with Whitespot and Ferntail.

"All right, kits," said Roseheart. "Let's get back inside."

"But I don't want to!" protested Mousekit.

"Yeah, we're having fun!" Tanglekit pounced on his brother to demonstrate how much fun they were having. Mousekit let out a very loud, excited shriek, causing the nearby Smokefang and Moosefur, who were sharing a scrap of prey, to look up in alarm.

"Kits," Smokefang growled good-naturedly, shaking his head as he returned to his meal.

"You have to come in anyway," Roseheart said. "We can't have you catching a chill. Come on, Wolfkit." The bitter cold that had accompanied the first snowfall had claimed Kinkedwhisker's life, and now Runningbelly and Marshpelt were sick.

After much grumbling and complaining, Roseheart managed to herd her younger brothers inside the warm nursery. Whitefeather's kits were napping. Applekit and Goldenkit were playing quietly (for once) near their dozing mother, Sandstripe. Brookfur was grooming herself, and her belly was round with Sunstorm's kits.

"Go take a nap," Roseheart ordered.

"I don't want to!" Tanglekit protested.

"We're not tired," Mousekit said. Wolfkit contradicted him with a huge yawn.

"Go to sleep," said the warrior, whiskers twitching with amusement. After making sure that they were warm and comfortable, Roseheart sat nearby the kits to wait for the return of her mother.

She watched the steady rise and fall of the kits' furry backs. Mousekit looked almost exactly like Leafwhisper, but he had Willowfur's bright, sky blue eyes, the exact same shade as Roseheart's. Roseheart could tell that he would have a strong, muscular build when he grew up.

Tanglekit was twitching in his sleep. This kit seemed to like play-fighting a lot; almost as much as Applekit, and that was saying something. His fur was brown and faintly spotted. Tanglekit's brown eyes often burned with unquenchable enthusiasm. Roseheart knew he would grow up to be a strong and loyal warrior.

Wolfkit, on the other paw, was quite different from his brothers. His fur was dark gray and his eyes bright green, like Leafwhisper's. He didn't have the broad build of this brothers. Wolfkit was more agile and lithe than brawny and muscular. He was a thinker, not a fighter, and although he often was quiet and obedient, he at times was fiercely independent.

Willowfur soon returned, and Roseheart was free to go about her business. The young warrior got sleepily to her paws. She decided that watching napping kits was the most relaxing thing in the world, and it had almost made her nod off as well.

"Roseheart." The young she-cat was stopped by Whitefeather on her way out of the nursery.

"Yes?"

"I was watching you with the kits today. You did a great job," said the gentle queen. "You'll be a wonderful mother someday."

"Thank you," purred Roseheart, surprised and pleased. Her heart feeling light, stepped out of the nursery and into the cold of the camp.

As the warrior started across the clearing, someone called her name. At first, she thought it was Whitefeather again, but then she saw Crowflight padding toward her.

"Hello, Crowflight," she said in greeting.

"Hello," said the black warrior. "Could I ask a favor of you?"

"Anything."

"Stripefur and I were going to take our apprentices hunting today. But Stripefur is sick –"

"Oh no!" Roseheart interrupted. "Did she catch what Runningbelly and Marshpelt have?"

"I don't know," said Crowflight, and Roseheart thought that he looked very worried. "But the point is that I now need another warrior along for safety reasons. Briarpaw suggested you."

"Of course I'll come!" Roseheart said, too happy to notice Crowflight's amused purr.

"Come on then," said the tom, leading her to where Orchidpaw and Briarpaw were waiting.

"Hi, Roseheart," Briarpaw purred.

"Hello," said Roseheart. She stepped forward and brushed her cheek to his. Neither of them saw Orchidpaw's exasperation or Crowflight's amusement.

"Let's go," Crowflight said, leading the group out the camp entrance. The four of them padded through the noiseless pine trees. The snow that covered everything seemed to have cast a spell of silence over the forest. It was slightly unnerving.

"We're going to the Willow Pool," Crowflight whispered, seemingly unwilling to break the enchantment.

As they passed the training clearing, Bluepaw and Cloudstorm were just coming out. Their fur was rumpled and covered in snow and pine needles, and both cats seemed out of breath. Roseheart guessed that they had been battle training.

Cloudstorm nodded at Crowflight and Roseheart.

"Hi, Briarpaw!" Bluepaw said loudly. "Hey, Roseheart!"

Briarpaw and Roseheart returned the greeting more quietly. As Bluepaw passed Orchidpaw, the two apprentices exchanged a glare. As Roseheart's party moved on, Orchidpaw spoke.

"Oh, I can't stand that Bluepaw!" she burst out.

"Why not?" asked Crowflight, surprised.

"I just – he just gets on my nerves!" Orchidpaw hissed. "He is so annoying, and he's always getting in trouble, and –"

"Oh, lay off it, Orchidpaw," Briarpaw said in a rare burst of irritation. "He's not that bad!"

"Oh yes he is!" his sister retorted. "How many times did he get you into trouble when you were kits? You never got into any trouble unless you were playing with _him_!"

"He's my best friend!" Briarpaw growled. "Everyone else likes him! You're just determined not to!"

Orchidpaw opened her mouth angrily to reply, but Crowflight cut her off. "Both of you, that's enough!"

The two apprentices lapsed into a tense silence. Roseheart sighed. Having shared the apprentice den with both Bluepaw and Orchidpaw, she knew very well the enmity between them. She had never really understood _why_ the two of them so hated each other – neither of them seemed to have a concrete answer – but each absolutely refused to like the other.

The four cats trekked through the snowy forest, not speaking. Suddenly, Orchidpaw froze.

"What's wrong?" asked Roseheart.

"Shh," said the apprentice. She nudged her brother and gestured to a clump of dead bracken with her tail. "Squirrel."

"Watch this," Crowflight whispered to Roseheart as Briarpaw dropped to his haunches. Briarpaw crept forward, tasted the air, and sprang into the thicket. Roseheart heard a scuffle, and then the tabby apprentice emerged with a reddish, furry bundle hanging from his jaws.

"Wow," said Roseheart. "You two make a great team!"

"Nice catch, Briarpaw," Orchidpaw said.

"Nice find!" Briarpaw returned. "None of us even scented that – we would have walked right by!" The siblings practically beamed at each other, their earlier argument forgotten. After burying the squirrel to pick up later, the cats headed on.

"Wait!" Roseheart cried suddenly. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Crowflight.

"I hear it too!" Orchidpaw exclaimed. "Shh!"

They all were silent, and Roseheart strained her ears to listen.

"...Help..." a weak voice called.

"It's coming from this way," Briarpaw said, dashing off across the snow. Orchidpaw scented the air while they followed.

"It's one of our Clan!" she announced. "Either Hawkscar or Lionclaw... I can't tell for sure." Roseheart was impressed despite her apprehension. She was just now picking up the PineClan scent, but could not identify the particular cat. They were too far away.

They ran on, and, sure enough, Roseheart soon spotted a ginger lump lying in the snow.

"...Help..."

"We're coming!" Crowflight called. Roseheart slid to a stop beside the immobile cat, spraying snow onto Briarpaw, who was already at the ginger cat's side.

"Lionclaw!" she exclaimed, now able to recognize the cat. "What happened?"

"Oh ... thank DreamClan you're here..." the ginger tom panted. "I ... was on patrol with ... with Cedarheart and Daisyheart .... We were ambushed .... Doom and his rogues again ...." Roseheart then noticed in horror the many wounds covering Lionclaw's body.

"No!" Crowflight hissed.

"Lionclaw," Orchidpaw said, her voice shaking, "no one's .... No one's ...?"

"No one's dead," Lionclaw said, and all four of the other cats breathed a sigh of relief. "But Cedarheart's badly hurt .... I went to get help, but I hurt my leg... tripped over a root ...."

"Hush," Crowflight soothed. "Lionclaw, where did this happen?"

"Near ... near the OakClan border," Lionclaw gasped. "By the fallen pine...."

"Briarpaw," the black warrior said, "run to camp, as fast as you can. Tell Windystar what's happened, and get Forestpelt. Bring him to the fallen pine."

Briarpaw nodded and touched his tail to Roseheart's shoulder before sprinting in the direction of the camp.

"Orchidpaw," Crowflight said, turning to the frightened-looking apprentice. "Help Lionclaw get back to camp. Take it slowly, and rest whenever you can. But be alert. We don't' know exactly where Doom is."

Orchidpaw nodded, eyes wide. Crowflight helped Lionclaw to his paws. The young warrior winced when he tried putting weight on his right forepaw.

"I think I sprained it or something," he said, grimacing. Orchidpaw stepped forward and allowed Lionclaw to lean on her.

"Let's go," Crowflight said to Roseheart, a hard, determined look in his eye. He loped of, Roseheart at his heels. They ran through the snow, silent. Roseheart dreaded what they might find when they reached the fallen pine.

After a long while, Crowflight spoke."I can scent them," he said between gasps for breath. Roseheart looked ahead, eager for sight of her Clanmates, yet terrified of what she might find. What if they were too late?


	16. Chapter 16

"Come," said Doom. "Let's go find some shelter."

"I know of a good place," said Ice. "This way." She lead them to one of the gardens that Slashpaw remembered exploring earlier that day. Near the back was a mini Twoleg nest. At the front were two large doors big enough for a Twoleg to walk through. One was open slightly, providing enough room for the cats to slip in.

It was warmer inside the building which Doom explained was called a 'tool shed'. There were many strange (and some dangerous-looking) objects inside that Slashpaw could not imagine the use for.

Once all three cats were seated comfortably, Doom spoke.

"My worst suspicions have been confirmed," he said, his voice grave and his blood-red eyes glinting dangerously.

"And what suspicions would those be?" Slashpaw asked tentatively when Doom did not continue.

"My brother has returned," Doom growled.

"...Your brother Chester?" asked Slashpaw.

Slashpaw was surprised when his father's whiskers twitched with amusement.

"Yes, my brother Chester,"he said. "Ah... how he hates that name...."

"So he calls himself Blood, doesn't he?" asked Ice suddenly, head tilted, eyes calculating.

"Why, yes he does!" Doom said, looking surprised. "How did you know?"

"Easy. Slashpaw told me about your conversation with Ringo – the loner that lives in the goat barn on the farm. He thought you were a cat called Blood. And then, when you were talking to Whiskers, you almost asked if he had seen _Blood_, but you caught yourself and said _Chester_ instead."

"Very nice," said Doom. "You're one sharp cat, Ice."

"Anyway," Slashpaw cut in, "your brother is back. Why is that so awful?"

Doom sighed, and the hard, unreadable look came back on his face. After a moment, he spoke. "My mother was a loner," he said. "Her name was Princess. She raised us – my siblings and I – as loners in an alley not far from here. There was three of us: me, the oldest; then Blood, named Chester back then; and Lily, the youngest. Lily and I were always very close. She was this pretty little calico: very dainty, very sweet. She was everything to me, and I was her big brother, her protector.

"When Princess disappeared, I had to take care of both of them. We couldn't have been much older than you two are now. Blood and I had never really gotten along that well, but after Princess vanished, it got worse. I don't know why. Maybe he was just having a hard time coping with it all. I'm not sure. He was angry all the time, and took it all out on me, mostly. Lily hated it when we argued. Once we were having a really bad fight. Both of us were yelling. Blood's claws were out, and it took all the self-control I had to keep mine sheathed. And then ..."He paused and took a deep breath. "And then Lily was begging us to stop, and then Blood screamed .... He screamed and screamed at her to be quiet because this wasn't her business." Doom's voice was shaking. "But she wouldn't .... That silly little she-cat wouldn't be quiet, and then ...." His voice broke, and there was silence. Slashpaw stared at his father. He had never seen him so upset.

"What happened then, Slash?" asked Ice gently. Doom seemed to take heart at her use of his real name, and he continued.

"Blood broke," he said. "He just snapped. He lashed out at her with his claws.... And then she was dead, lying there in a pool of blood." Slashpaw gasped. Ice was watching Doom with an expression of utmost pity mingled with horror on her face.

"I couldn't believe it," Doom went on, spitting angrily. "His first murder. We both just stared at her for a moment in shock, and then I couldn't take it anymore. I leaped at Blood and we fought. I was so angry, and I was powered by my grief and rage, so of course I won. I wanted to kill him, but I couldn't bring myself to slay the dirty coward. No matter how much I hated him, he was still my brother, my own kin. So I drove him away. I told him that if I ever saw his face again, I _would_ kill him, and I meant it. I had never been so angry, or so sad. The only time that ever compared was when Silvertail died." Doom broke off and stared into space, lost in these bittersweet memories.

"I'm sorry," Slashpaw said quietly.

"Oh, Doom," Ice sighed. "I didn't know. That's terrible."

Doom shook his head vigorously. "Don't mind me," he growled. "It just makes me so mad.... Lily didn't deserve to die. She was so sweet and so innocent... never hurt anything if she could help it...."

Slashpaw let him sit in silence a while before asking, "So why did you tell us this?"

"Blood is back," Doom said, eyes burning. "He must pay for his crimes. But, Slashpaw, you know very well another reason that this is important."

"Wha–? I do?"

"I was accused of murdering Graystar and those other warriors," Doom said. "We both know it wasn't me. But that one cat... what's his name...."

"Bluepaw?"

"Yes, that's it. Bluepaw is sure that he saw me leading the rogues that attacked them. Slashpaw, no one but Lily and our mother could tell me and Blood apart. That's how much alike we looked."

"I..." Slashpaw was confused. Then, very suddenly, it hit him. "Wait, you're saying that _Blood_ killed Graystar and the others?"

"Exactly. And now, Slashpaw, you must decide what we do next."

"What do you mean?"

"What should we do now that we have this knowledge? Do we move on in search of a new home for the two of us to settle down in?"

Slashpaw shook his head. "No, we can't do that. We have to go back to PineClan and clear your name. And then, maybe, you could help us catch Blood and punish him for what he did."

Doom looked at his son warmly. "That's exactly what I thought you'd say." he turned to the she-cat, who was sitting quietly next to Slashpaw. "And what about you, Ice?" he asked. "How are you going to get back to your farm?"

"I'm not," she said. "I'm coming with you."

"Coming with us?" Doom asked, caught off-guard. Slashpaw wasn't surprised. _I knew she wouldn't want to abandon us,_ he thought with a rush of affection for her.

"Of course I'm coming along!" Ice said indignantly. "I'm not going back to that boring old farm. Life is more of an adventure with you two. Plus, you're my friends. I'm not leaving you."

Doom looked at her for a moment. Slashpaw couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"All right then," he said after a while. "We leave tomorrow. Let's go find something to eat."

Doom lead the way out the tool shed, followed by Ice. The she-cat flicked Slashpaw's shoulder companionably with her tail as she passed.

The trio managed to catch a scrawny mouse and a thin, tiny rat between the three of them. As they began to eat, Ice looked up at the eldest cat.

"Doom," she said slowly, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"I was just wondering... From what Slashpaw's told me, Blood has been a problem in PineClan for quite some time now. Why didn't you think that it was him before now?"

Doom chewed thoughtfully for a moment, and then replied. "I'm not sure, exactly. I guess I had tried to forget about him for so long that it eventually worked. I guess I didn't want to accept that he was back in my life."

Ice sized him up for a moment, that intelligent, calculating look back on her face.

"Look!" Slashpaw said suddenly. A very plump mouse was scurrying around the outside of the alley where the cats were eating.

"I'll get it," said Ice, spotting the prey. She began creeping forward. When she reached the end of the alley, she sprang forward, claws outstretched. Her timing was a bit off, and the mouse spotted her and had a chance to dart away. With an angry hiss, Ice propelled herself after it, disappearing from Slashpaw's sight around the corner of the alley.

Doom purred with amusement. "You can't say she doesn't have enthusiasm," he chuckled. Slashpaw purred in agreement, and the two resumed their meal.

Slashpaw suddenly bolted to his paws, fur standing on end. He had just heard a terrified screech sound from the direction the their companion had disappeared to.

"Ice!" he cried, and sprinted toward the sound, Doom close behind. As he skidded around the corner, he saw in horror what had happened. A Twoleg had Ice wrapped in his arms. Ice was struggling, but the Twoleg was holding her tightly, and she was unable to claw at or bite him. The Twoleg forced her into a plastic box with a metallic, web-like door and placed it inside the back of his monster, which was parked on the road nearby. He got inside as well and the monster roared to life.

"Hurry!" Doom cried, dashing toward the car. "We can't let it get away!" Slashpaw followed, not caring that the rough pavement was tearing at his pads, making them bleed. Ice had said herself that they were friends, and no friend of his was going to be abducted by Twolegs if he could help it.

This monster was different than most that Slashpaw had seen so far. It was larger, and the back was flat and open to the sky. The two cats reached the back end of the monster just as it began to move. Doom leaped upwards, into the back of the monster.

"Slashpaw!" he cried. "Jump! Quickly!" Slashpaw obeyed, although he was certain that he would not make it, that it was too high up....

Yet his few, short weeks of training – leaping onto low tree branches and springing across streams and fallen logs – had paid off. Slashpaw's two forepaws made contact with the cold, hard metal of the monster, and Doom lunged forward, grabbing Slashpaw's scruff and dragging him onto the safety of the monster.

"Phew," Slashpaw sighed, flopping down onto the freezing metal. "I made it."

"Yes, you did," Doom said, purring slightly.

"Now what?"

"Now we wait for the monster to stop so that we can bust Ice out."

"Okay," Slashpaw said. "Sounds like a plan."


	17. Chapter 17

"I see them!" Roseheart exclaimed. She could make out two figures in the snow. One was sprawled out in a snowdrift while the other bent over it.

"Daisyheart?" Crowflight called.

The standing cat looked up. "Thank DreamClan!" she cried.

"Lionclaw told us that Doom attacked," Roseheart said as they stopped, panting, beside the she-cat.

"Yes," Daisyheart said. "I was over there checking something – I don't even remember what anymore – and then I heard Lionclaw scream for help.... I came over to see all of them fighting...." She shuddered, then continued her story. "There was three of them, counting Doom. Cedarheart killed one... over there...." Roseheart looked across the battlefield to see a dark brown cat lying motionless a little ways away.

"When I arrived," Daisyheart went on, "they ran away. But Doom had already beaten Cedarheart up pretty badly. I was trying to help him when he collapsed. I sent Lionclaw to get help. He was wounded, and I probably could have run faster, but I thought Cedarheart needed me here. Blossomfur taught me some basic healing before... before she died..." The she-cat trailed off into silence.

Roseheart studied the fallen warrior. Clumps of cobwebs covered his blood-soaked pelt. His breathing was rapid and very shallow. She knew that he could easily die if Forestpelt didn't get there soon enough, and even then his chances were slim.

The young warrior looked around the battle site. It definitely showed signs of a struggle. The snow was churned up and spattered with blood, the scarlet standing out vividly against the white.

The three cats waited in silence, watching Cedarheart's breathing become shallower and shallower. _Oh DreamClan,_ Roseheart silently begged, _please let Forestpelt come soon._

After what seemed like hours, Roseheart heart a shout in the distance.

"Over here!" Crowflight yelled. "Forestpelt! This way!"

The medicine cat soon came into view, darting between pines along with Briarpaw and Cloudstorm.

"This is bad," Forestpelt said after a quick examination of the injured tom. "He needs to get back to camp as soon as possible. Briarpaw, Daisyheart, go find me some bracken." The two named cats nodded briefly and dashed off, glad for something to do. They soon returned with huge mouthfuls of the plant.

Roseheart watched Forestpelt adjust the cobwebs that Daisyheart had placed on the warrior to stem the flow of blood. Then he bound them with bracken stems.

"That should keep the cobwebs in place," he said. "Crowflight, Cloudstorm, I'm going to need you to carry him."

Under Forestpelt's direction, Cloudstorm and Crowflight crouched side-by-side, and the other four carefully picked Cedarheart up and draped him across their backs.

"What do we do with him?" Briarpaw asked, gesturing to the rogue Cedarheart had slain.

"I'll stay behind and bury him," Roseheart offered.

"Thank you," Forestpelt said. "Briarpaw, stay behind and help her. Once you're done, try to catch up to us quickly. We'll need all the paws we can get if we run into Doom and his gang again."

Briarpaw nodded in reply. As Forestpelt and the others left, Roseheart and Briarpaw started toward the body. Roseheart shivered as they drew close. The cat's face was locked in a snarl, his blank eyes glaring at nothing. Dried blood stained his dark brown fur. Fresh wounds crisscrossed old battle scars.

Briarpaw gently slid the corpse's eyes closed with a forepaw. "Let's get this over with," he said.

"I didn't think I'd ever bury a cat before I was an elder," Roseheart said with a grimace. It was Clan tradition for the elders to bury fallen warriors.

"Same here," Briarpaw sighed. "Where should we bury him?"

"How about right here?" Roseheart began kicking snow off of an empty patch of ground.

"All right," said the tabby as he began to scrape at the frozen dirt with his forepaws.

The sun was marginally lower in the sky when the two had finally created a sizable hole.

"I think this is deep enough," Roseheart said.

"Finally," Briarpaw panted. They walked back to the dead rogue. Roseheart was reluctant to touch the body, but, with Briarpaw's encouragement, she grabbed it by the tail and helped him drag it toward the hole. Briarpaw shoved it unceremoniously into the pit. Roseheart was a bit surprised at this show of blatant disrespect for the dead cat, but Briarpaw, noticing her look, said, "I'll bet that this rogue was one of the cowards who helped kill my father and the others. I know he wouldn't have hesitated to kill Cedarheart as well. Or me, for that matter, or you, or any other PineClan cat. I say he deserved what he got."

Roseheart nodded sadly and began filling in the grave. When they were almost done, she said, "I really hope Cedarheart doesn't die."

"Me too," Briarpaw sighted. "I've never been that close to him, but we _are_ kin." After a pause, he added, "I don't want Doom to take any more of our warriors. It isn't right."

"Poor Sandstripe," Roseheart said sadly. "She's already lost her father, and to lose her only sibling too... I can't imagine what I'd do if I lost Leafwhisper...." The very thought silenced her. Both cats continued pushing dirt into the hole, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Well," said Briarpaw when they had finished. "We'd better get back to camp. I assume Forestpelt and the others are already there."

"Let's follow their paw prints," Roseheart suggested, "just in case they got caught up along the way."

"Good idea."

The two set off across the snow, following the four sets of paw prints like Roseheart had said. The forest was as silent as when they had first begun hunting. To Roseheart, those few, carefree moments seemed lifetimes away. They did not meet the other cats on their journey and assumed that they had made it back to camp safely.

"There's camp," Roseheart panted, relieved, when the clearing came into view. She couldn't remember ever feeling so tired, hungry, or cold.

"You're back!"

As the twosome entered the clearing, Leafwhisper ran to greet them. "Thank DreamClan!" she exclaimed. "Sunstorm was just about to send out a search party!"

"We're back, alright," Roseheart sighed, exhausted. "Burying the body took longer than we would have guessed."

"How's Cedarheart?" asked Briarpaw. "And Lionclaw?"

"Lionclaw's on the mend," Leafwhisper said. "Forestpelt says that he'll be okay in a quarter moon or so. Cedarheart, on the other paw...." Leafwhisper sighed. "He's in really bad shape. No cat knows if he'll make it." Roseheart hung her head. She had guessed as much, but hearing her suspicions confirmed was not helping her already dismal mood.

"Is there any prey?" she asked. Briarpaw, who had been gazing sadly at his paws, looked up hopefully. "I haven't eaten all day, and I'm starving," Roseheart said.

"Me too," the apprentice put in.

"I don't think there's any left," Leafwhisper said bracingly. "I'm sorry."

"I could go fetch the squirrel you caught earlier," Roseheart suggested to Briarpaw.

"No, I'll get it," Leafwhisper offered. "Where's it at?" Briarpaw gave her directions to the place it was stashed, and she raced off.

"Let's go check up on Lionclaw and Cedarheart," Roseheart said. The two of them walked slowly toward the medicine cat den, paws dragging in the dust.

"Hello?" Briarpaw called, poking his head inside.

"Come in," Forestpelt said. Roseheart followed Briarpaw inside. The den was packed. Marshpelt, Runningbelly, and Stripefur were all on one side, resting. Runningbelly broke into a fit of coughing, and Stripefur shifted restlessly. Marshpelt was asleep, his breathing irregular. Lionclaw and Cedarheart were lying on the other side of the den. Forestpelt was bent over Marshpelt.

"Hello," the medicine cat said. "What can I do for you? Heatherkit, please get some more feverfew for Stripefur, Marshpelt, and Runningbelly. Their fevers are up again." Roseheart only then saw the small brown-and-white kit scurrying around.

"Here you go, Forestpelt!" Heatherkit said, dropping the herbs at his paws.

"Thank you for your help," the medicine cat said. "You should go now. Whitefeather will be wondering what has become of you!"

"Okay, Forestpelt," she said. "Good-bye!" Roseheart watched as the little kit trotted past her and out into the camp.

"The problem," Forestpelt sighed once Heatherkit was gone, "is that I don't know if I can manage without her help."

"Daisyheart said she knows a bit about herbs," Roseheart said, trying to help. Forestpelt looked exhausted and worried.

"Yes, but she's been through a lot today," Forestpelt said. "I told her to get some rest."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Briarpaw.

"No," Forestpelt said. "You two have done enough. See if you can find something to eat, and then go get some sleep."

"You're a great medicine cat," Roseheart said sincerely. "I have faith in you. We all do." Briarpaw nodded earnestly to show his agreement.

Forestpelt's eyes grew warm with gratitude. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

Roseheart nodded, and the two left to see if Leafwhisper had returned yet.

"Roseheart! Briarpaw! Over here!" Roseheart looked around and saw here sister beckoning to them from near the entrance.

"That was quick," Briarpaw said as they approached.

"Yup," Leafwhisper said, panting. "I ran the whole way."

"Thank you, Leafwhisper," Roseheart said.

"Yes, thanks," Briarpaw said, eyeing the prey hungrily.

"No problem," said the green-eyed warrior. "Eat up! I'm going to go find Bluepaw."

"See you later," Roseheart said to her sister. The two cats tore into the squirrel as Leafwhisper walked away, devouring it in record time.

"That was wonderful," Briarpaw sighed when they had finished. "I was _so_ hungry."

"Same here," Roseheart said with a yawn. "I'm beat." It had begun snowing once again, and she was very cold and tired.

"Same here," the apprentice said. "I'm going to sleep."

After saying good-bye, the two parted ways and Roseheart was soon sinking into her nest. Warm and cozy, it took no time at all for her to fall into a deep sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Star Rock for a Clan meeting!"

At Windystar's yowl, Orchidpaw got to her paws and headed toward the Star Rock along with the rest of the Clan. It had been snowing pretty heavily, but the weather was now clearing up. About halfway to the Star Rock, she stopped suddenly, nearly causing Whitespot to run into her.

"What's wrong?" asked the tom.

"Briarpaw and Roseheart are still asleep!" she said. "Should I go wake them?"

"No, let them sleep," he decided. "They've had a rough day."

"All right," said Orchidpaw. She continued toward where the rest of the Clan was congregating and took a seat next to Ferntail.

Windystar stepped forward so that he was standing on the very edge of the Star Rock.

"Doom has attacked once again," he growled. The Clan was unsurprised: News and gossip spread around the camp faster than greencough in the elders' den. "Lionclaw is injured," Windystar went on, "but he is young and strong. Cedarheart, though, has been critically wounded. There is no telling whether he will recover." The gathered cats were silent, heads bowed, except for a small wail of grief from Sandstripe, who was sitting just outside the nursery with the other queens.

"I have had enough!" Windystar cried suddenly. "I will not take anymore of these ambushes! Doom has taken too many great warriors from us: Graystar, Mothflight, Littlestream, Blossomfur, and Slashpaw have all fallen beneath his paws. It is not right for us to sit here in our camp and cower like mice, waiting for him to strike once more! We must act!"

Yowls of agreement resounded throughout the camp. One voice cut through them.

"What are you proposing, Windystar?" Brookfur called.

Windystar met her eyes. His green eyes, usually so calm and kind, were fiery with rage. "We attack!" he hissed. "_We_ shall become the hunters! We will find him and make him pay for what he has done! Who is with me?" The cats assembled below cried out in agreement.

"He must be stopped!"

"Doom shall take no more of our warriors!"

"We must put an end to this!"

"We will not tolerate these cowardly attacks any longer!"

"Sunstorm!" Windystar said, his voice rising above the noise. The Clan stopped speaking amongst themselves to listen rapturously.

"Yes, Windystar?" the fiery-pelted deputy asked respectfully.

"You will lead a patrol to the fallen pine where Cedarheart and Lionclaw were attacked. See if you can find his trail there."

Sunstorm nodded. "Who should I take?"

The leader's emerald eyes scanned his Clan. "You will need our best fighters ... take Smokefang, Braveheart, Hawkscar, and Moosefur. Also, bring Orchidpaw along."

"Me?" gasped Orchidpaw.

"Why take an apprentice?" Otterpelt asked. "I want to go!"

"Orchidpaw is our best tracker," Windystar explained. "Doom's trail will be stale by now. She might be needed."

"Windystar!" Sandstripe cried, leaping to her paws. "Please ... can I go along? Doom killed my father, and Cedarheart's all the family I have left."

"Sandstripe, you know I can't let you," Windystar said gently.

"Please!" the striped queen begged desperately. "I can't just sit here and do nothing while my brother dies!"

"Applekit and Goldenkit need you," said Windystar. "If something were to happen to you –"

"But..."

"_No_, Sandstripe. You must stay here," he said firmly. His decision was final, and every cat knew it. Sandstripe sat down, hanging her head. Willowfur rested her tail over the other queen's shoulders and murmured comfortingly to her.

"Sunstorm," the leader said, "get your patrol together and leave as soon as you can. Cloudstorm, I with to speak with you. Meeting dismissed."

Orchidpaw got to her paws, still a bit stunned. _She_ was going on a mission to track down a ruthless murderer?

"Good luck," Ferntail said, pressing her nose into her daughter's fur. "Be careful and come back safely." She lowered her voice. "Graystar would be proud of you." Orchidpaw nodded to show that she had heard, and stumbled toward where the rest of the patrol was gathered.

"Orchidpaw," Sunstorm said, waving her over with his tail. The eyes of all the other warriors turned to her. Orchidpaw suddenly felt very small among these large, muscular warriors. "This is a dangerous mission," Sunstorm said, "but we are in need of your talent. We will protect you the best that we can, but you know as well as the rest of us what Doom and his band of rogues are capable of. If things get rough, don't try to be a hero. Run and hide, okay?"

"Okay," Orchidpaw managed, her throat feeling a bit constricted with fear.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to bring an apprentice along?" Hawkscar asked, looking at Orchidpaw. She realized that the fur along her spine was standing up with fright, and she tried to flatten it.

"That's better," Braveheart soothed, placing his tail across her shoulders. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." Orchidpaw blinked slowly at him to show her thanks.

"All right, then," Sunstorm said. "Let's go." He lead the way out of the camp, his son Hawkscar at his side. Braveheart and Orchidpaw followed while Smokefang and Moosefur took up the rear. The six cats strode through the forest. It was very quiet, with no singing birds or breeze to rattle the branches of the giant pines. The tension surrounding the patrol, though, seemed very loud to Orchidpaw.

By the time they reached the fallen pine, Orchidpaw thought the silence would make her go mad. No cat had spoken the entire journey; all of them were too strung up. Orchidpaw surveyed the area. All signs of the battle had nearly been erased by the fresh snow.

"Start sniffing around, all of you," Sunstorm ordered. "Hopefully the trail hasn't completely disappeared." Orchidpaw opened her mouth obediently and drew the dry, winter air across the scent glands on the roof of her mouth. She _had_ to find the trail. She could not let her Clan down.

"We'll never find it,"said Moosefur after a long while, flopping down hopelessly in the snow.

"And even if we did," Smokefang said, "how could be ever catch up to them? They've had an immense head start."

"We must try," Sunstorm said from across the clearing. "Keep searching."

"Wait!" Orchidpaw cried. "Over here!" The other cats rushed over. "This branch," the apprentice said, gesturing to a low pine bough. "One of the rogues must have brushed against it while they were running away!"

"I can't scent anything," Smokefang said.

"Neither can I," Hawkscar concurred.

"No, I can smell it too," Sunstorm said. "The snow has made it very faint, but it's there."

Orchidpaw moved very close to the branch, breathing deeply. She quickly memorized the scent so that she would know it anywhere. Then she walked forward slowly, eyes closed, drawing air over her scent glands. She filtered out all other scents except for the smell of the rogues....

Orchidpaw opened her eyes. Over here one had brushed against a holly bush... up ahead one had snagged a clump of fur on a sharp bit of bark on a pine trunk.... Orchidpaw raced forward, ignoring the surprised exclamations of the rest of the patrol. She had the trail! It was so clear now. How had she missed it before?

"Orchidpaw! Stop!"

A loud voice brought her to her senses. The other cats were chasing after her, calling for her. Orchidpaw ceased running, and Sunstorm slid to a stop beside her.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked angrily.

"I'm sorry," Orchidpaw said, embarrassed. "I found the trail."

"You did?" Smokefang asked.

"Yes!" Orchidpaw exclaimed impatiently. They had to let her keep tracking. She had the trail, and she must follow it.

"Well," said Sunstorm, "lead on, then. But slow down so we can keep up!"

Orchidpaw nodded, sheepish, and trotted away, back on the trail.

At one point, Orchidpaw lost the scent. She stopped, confused, and realized that they were at the OakClan border.

"What's wrong?" Braveheart asked as the rest of the cats stopped beside her.

"I... I lost the trail," Orchidpaw said. She turned and went back to the last place she had picked up the scent: a clump of snow-covered ferns that the two rogues seemed to have waded through. She scented the air, filtering out unimportant smells, searching for the one she was seeking.

"Oh!" She had picked up the trail. The rogues' scent had been masked by the OakClan scent markers.

"What?" Moosefur asked eagerly. "Did you find it?"

"Yes," Orchidpaw answered. "They went into OakClan territory."

"Now what do we do?" Smokefang asked uncertainly. The patrol turned instinctively to Sunstorm.

"We have to follow them!" Hawkscar said before Sunstorm could speak. "We can't let them get away!"

"Nor can we trespass on another Clan's territory," Sunstorm said, sounding put-off by the interruption.

"So we came all this way for nothing?" asked Hawkscar furiously.

"There must be something we can do," Braveheart said, looking around as if the answer to their predicament was hiding somewhere in the forest, waiting to be found.

"Wait!" Orchidpaw cried. "An OakClan patrol is coming!"

Sure enough, a group of four warriors soon came into view. One, a dark tabby, spotted them and said something to the others. They all turned to see the PineClan cats and ran toward them.

"What are a bunch of PineClan cats doing, hanging out so near the border?" asked a white she-cat suspiciously.

"I'll bet they stole some of our prey!" accused another cat, a tom with black and brown patches on his long, white fur.

"Silence!" hissed the leader of the patrol. Orchidpaw thought he looked familiar. His coat was pitch black and his eyes were ice-colored and cold.

"Shadowfrost," said Sunstorm calmly, inclining his head to the black cat. Orchidpaw realized with a jolt that this cat was OakClan's deputy.

"Sunstorm," Shadowfrost returned. "What brings you to this part of the forest?"

"And with so many cats," the dark tabby put in.

"Blackstripe!" Shadowfrost snapped. "Be silent!"

"We assure you that we mean OakClan no harm," the ginger deputy said evenly, ignoring Blackstripe's comment. "We had encountered some rogues on our territory and we are tracking them. Their trail lead us to your territory."

"A likely story!" the white she-cat spat. "Following rogues? Ha! There are no paw prints in the snow beside your own!"

"I think they were going to steal prey," the three-colored tom growled, "but we caught them in the act!"

"Snowcloud, Birchpelt!" Shadowfrost hissed a warning at his warriors. "Still your tongues!"

"You seem a bit paranoid," Hawkscar jeered. "Can't catch enough prey lately?" He was silenced by a look from Sunstorm.

"Shadowfrost, we were wondering," Sunstorm continued as if nothing had happened, "whether you would allow us to continue tracking the rogues on your territory." At these words, Snowcloud and Blackstripe exchanged a quick glance, but Shadowfrost's expression did not change, save for a slight narrowing of his eyes.

"Let them onto our territory?" Birchpelt said. "That's preposterous!"

"And we will be doing no such thing," Shadowfrost said firmly. "I will not allow you onto OakClan territory, especially without Brightstar's permission. We thank you for warning us about the rogues. We will act accordingly."

Smokefang opened his mouth to object angrily, but a stern look from Sunstorm stopped him.

"Thank you," said PineClan's deputy politely. Shadowfrost nodded briskly. Sunstorm turned and lead his patrol away.

"Now what?" asked Hawkscar eagerly when they were out of hearing range.

"Nothing," Sunstorm said firmly. "We will go back to camp and report to Windystar."

"What?" Hawkscar exclaimed. "You're giving up?"

"What else are we supposed to do?" said Braveheart reasonably. "We can't invade another Clan's territory."

"We didn't come all this way for nothing!" Hawkscar protested.

"Hawkscar!" Moosefur said in warning, frowning at the young warrior.

"I want to fight!" Hawkscar cried. "I refuse to give up! Mothflight was my mentor. I won't wait any longer to avenge her and the others!"

"I am your father and your deputy," Sunstorm growled dangerously. "You will obey me or you _will___be punished. How does looking after the elders for a moon or two sound to you?"

The two cats glowered at each other for a few tense moments until Hawkscar's defiance slowly faded away.

"Fine," he snarled bitterly, tail lashing angrily. "Have it your way."

As the group headed to camp, Orchidpaw watched Hawkscar. She was surprised at the warrior's lack of respect for his father – not to mention the fact that Sunstorm was also Clan deputy! Not even Bluepaw would so blatantly question such a direct order.

And yet, Orchidpaw could understand his frustration. She was colder than she had ever thought possible, and she had earlier trodden on a sharp stone concealed by snow, the pain all the worse because of the numbness in her paws. They had come all this way for nothing, nothing at all.

As she reflected on the day, a powerful desire for revenge against Doom grew, burning, in her gut. Orchidpaw was surprised and even a little frightened by its intensity. She could picture Doom's face before her, eyes mocking, mouth twisted into a taunting sneer. She wanted to make him suffer for all he had done. She wanted to score her claws across his pelt again and again until he know how much she was hurting. She missed her father terribly. Some day she would avenge him. _I want to fight him!_ she thought. _And sooner rather than later...._


	19. Chapter 19

Slashpaw woke when the monster screeched to a halt. He had fallen asleep somehow, despite the cold, the noise, and the dreadful uncomfortableness of the monster's metal pelt.

"Slashpaw!" Doom hissed. "The Twoleg's getting out! We need to hide!" Slashpaw quickly got to his paws. His muscles were stiff from sleeping on the hard, cold surface, but he followed Doom as quickly as he could. The back of the monster was bare and provided no hiding places, so Doom leaped lightly down onto the pavement. The Twoleg was walking around the right side of his monster, so Doom and Slashpaw darted around the left. They passed quickly across the monster's front. Slashpaw's fur prickled in fear. Doom seemed to think that the monster was asleep, but Slashpaw feared that it would notice them and attack. But the monster did not stir, and the two cats hid in a shrub at the side of the Thunderpath.

Slashpaw peered out from between the leafless branches and watched as the Twoleg took Ice's plastic box out of the monster. She yowled as loudly as she could from inside, and Slashpaw could hear her scrabbling desperately at the sides in an attempt to escape from her prison. As the Twoleg walked past their shrub, Slashpaw sunk his claws involuntarily into the frozen dirt. He watched, helpless, as the Twoleg carried Ice into a large Twoleg den. The door swung shut with ominous finality as the Twoleg disappeared inside.

The father-son duo emerged cautiously from the shrub, scenting the air and keeping a lookout for more Twolegs.

"How are we going to get in there?" asked Slashpaw, waving his tail at the Twoleg den into which Ice had been taken.

"I'm not sure," Doom sighed. "Let's take a look around."

The two cats circled around the building, searching for a way in. Night fell as they searched, and Doom stopped.

"Slashpaw, I think we need to call it a night and get some rest," he said. "We've searched the whole building, and we haven't found anything."

"But we can't give up!" Slashpaw said indignantly. "Ice needs us!"

"We aren't," Doom soothed. "We can try again in the morning."

"All right," Slashpaw sighed. After a quick hunt, the two returned to the sheltering shrub they had hidden in earlier that day. Slashpaw curled up next to his father and soon fell asleep, thoughts filled with Ice's urgent yowls.

Sunlight streamed through the branches of the shrub, waking Slashpaw. Doom was awake already and grooming himself. Doom caught a squirrel for the two of them to share.

"What are we going to do?" asked Slashpaw. "I don't know how we're going to get inside."

"Well," said Doom, "let's take another look around. Maybe we missed something in the dark last night."

They circled around the building once more with no luck. Doom leapt up on every windowsill and tested to see if they would open, but all of them were fastened shut.

"Now what?" Slashpaw asked as they arrived back at their shrub.

"I guess there's only one way in," Doom said.

"What?" asked Slashpaw. He followed his father's gaze. "The doors? The ones that the Twoleg took Ice through?"

"Yes," Doom said. "Neither of us is big or strong enough to open them ourselves, so –"

"So we're going to have to get a Twoleg to open them!" Slashpaw cried, pleased with himself for figuring it out.

"You're right," Doom said, purring at Slashpaw's enthusiasm. "But how?"

Slashpaw crouched outside the doors in the shadow of a prickly, decorative bush that grew in a row of similar ones next to the building. A thick stick, about a tail-length long, lay by his paws. Their first plan had been to hide by the door and wait for a Twoleg to come by and go into the building. Supposedly, the Twoleg would open the door and go inside, and then Doom and Slashpaw would dash in behind him. After waiting for quite a while, they had given up. No Twolegs had come by, and they realized that even if one did, there was no guarantee that they would be able to get inside before the door closed on their tails, and then the Twoleg would surely spot them.

So now it was time for Plan B. Doom was currently pushing a big, metal cylinder with a removable lid he had found toward the hard, concrete path that ran from the road to the building. Doom said the metal cylinder was called a "trash can", and that Twolegs used it to store extra food and items. The plan was that Doom would knock the trash can over onto the pavement. It would make a loud noise, and hopefully a Twoleg would come to investigate.

Once said Twoleg had picked up the trash can and put it back in its place, he would return inside of the building, and Slashpaw would place his stick in between the door frame and the door, preventing it from shutting all the way. Then he and Doom would put their paws into the space created by the stick and pry the door open.

"Are you ready, Slashpaw?" Doom called.

"Yes!" he answered, peering around the bush. Doom was standing behind the trash can, which was tilted, perched half on the pavement and half on the higher, snow-covered grass.

"Here we go then," Doom said. He backed up a ways, then sprinted forward. Slashpaw watched, impressed, as his father sprang upwards. Still in midair, he kicked out at the trash can. His paws made contact with a hollow ringing sound, and it tipped and fell. Slashpaw flattened his ears to his head to block out the horrible clanging and clattering that followed as the trash can hit the pavement. The lid came off and crashed down as the trash can rolled around.

Slashpaw took a step backwards further into the shadow as a Twoleg female came out of the building. He hoped that Doom had reached his hiding place. The Twoleg walked across the pavement and stopped near the trash can. She said something that Slashpaw didn't understand while looking at it. Slashpaw thought she looked quite confused, but she didn't claim to be an expert on Twoleg body language.

The Twoleg picked the trash can up, put the lid back on top of it, and carried it away. After a while, she returned empty-handed. Slashpaw tensed as she approached the door and grabbed the stick with his mouth. He took a step forward as she put her paw on the door handle. She pulled the door open and stepped inside. Slashpaw sped forward, dropped the stick, and guided it into place with his paws, pulling back as the door swung closed.

He jumped back into his hiding place, hissing as snow cascaded off of the quivering bush onto his back, half expecting the Twoleg to return and grab him. When nothing stirred for a few moments, he cautiously crept out of the protection of the bush.

"Doom, it worked!" he cried as he ran toward the place where his father was waiting.

"Good work, Slashpaw," said the black cat. They padded back toward the door. Doom slid a paw into the crack created by the stick and pulled.

The door didn't budge.

He put his other forepaw in, balancing precariously on his hind paws, and pulled. Slashpaw did the same.

Nothing.

Slashpaw twisted around and put his shoulder against it, pushing as hard as he could.

The door pushed outwards a little bit, but not enough to be considered progress. Both cats fell back, panting.

"We have to keep trying," Slashpaw said. "Ice needs us."

"You're right," Doom said. "Let's do this." He shook his pelt and stepped forward. This time, Doom and Slashpaw switched places so that Doom was pushing and Slashpaw was pulling. He pulled until his muscles were on fire and his body screamed for him to stop, and then he pulled some more.

The door started to move. In his excitement, Slashpaw lost his grip on the door. Doom yowled, for the door was now to heavy for him to manage alone, and jumped to the side to get out of the way as the door swung shut. As he moved, he accidentally bumped the stick out of its position as a doorstop, and the heavy door clicked as it closed completely.

"I'm sorry," Slashpaw muttered.

"Don't worry about it," Doom said, brushing his kit's flank with his ebony tail.

"Now how are we going to get in?" asked Slashpaw.

"I don't know," sighed Doom. He looked at his son, who was staring glumly at his paws, ears and tail drooping. "Don't worry, Slashpaw," he said. "We'll think of something. But I'm thirsty. Let's go find something to drink, and then we'll figure out another plan."

They decided to try the cluster of Twoleg nests across the Thunderpath for some water. After trying a few gardens, they spotted a bowl of water sitting out on the back steps of one Twoleg nest. The whole garden was full of dog-scent, but Doom said that the canine was locked up inside.

Slashpaw followed his father to the water bowl and they both drank deeply, tired out from their mad dashes and attempts to open the door.

"I wonder," said Doom, "if maybe... maybe...."

"What?" asked Slashpaw.

"I wonder if one of those windows could open from the inside," Doom mused.

"How would that help?" said Slashpaw. "We still can't get in to open the window."

"Hush," Doom said, waving his tail distractedly at his son. "I think I've got it...."

"Are you sure this will work?" Slashpaw asked. He and Doom were standing on the lawn outside the Twoleg building where Ice was being held.

"It had better," Doom said, "because I'm running out of ideas. Are you ready?"

Slashpaw nodded.

"All right then," said Doom, "let's go."

Both cats took deep breaths, and then started yowling as hard as they could. Doom lashed out at Slashpaw, claws sheathed, and Slashpaw did the same. They wrestled on the ground, thrashing and yowling and spitting.

At the sound of a Twoleg shouting and a door slamming, Doom broke away from their mock fight and sprinted to safety while Slashpaw lay prostrate on the grass. He hoped he looked convincing. Doom had taken great care to make him look as if he had been in a fight. His fur was ruffled and they had smeared bright red blood from a mouse they had caught all over his pelt.

As the Twoleg approached, Slashpaw stiffened in fear and felt his fur start to prickle. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. He had to play the part of an injured street cat. Ice needed him.

Through eyes opened just a hairbreadth, Slashpaw watched as the Twoleg took off an outer layer of his pelt. He wanted to screech in fear, but stifled the feeling and let the Twoleg wrap him in his pelt, lift him up, and carry him toward the building.

As the Twoleg pulled the door open, a rush of air found its way through the folds of the Twoleg's pelt and ruffled Slashpaw's fur, bringing the overwhelming scents of Twolegs, dogs, and cats. The loud Twoleg footsteps echoed across the empty lobby. Slashpaw could hear muffled dog barks coming from somewhere.

The Twoleg carried Slashpaw through another door into a small room. He set the cat down on a platform raised up on four legs, one at each corner. Gently, the Twoleg pulled the pelt away. Slashpaw wanted to jump down and run away, but he forced himself to lay still. The Twoleg made noises that Slashpaw supposed were meant to be soothing and felt the gray apprentice with his huge paws.

Suddenly a Twoleg yowled from outside the room. Slashpaw's Twoleg called something back. The other Twoleg answered and Slashpaw's Twoleg sighed. He stroked Slashpaw's fur and murmured something to him, and then he left the room.

Once he was sure that the Twoleg was gone, Slashpaw leapt to his paws. The room seemed way too clean to him, and it smelled strange. There was a large window next to his platform. He leapt onto the sill.

"Now, how do I open it?" he wondered aloud, studying the window. He spotted a latch in the middle and pawed at it. The latch wiggled but didn't open. Growling softly in frustration, he pawed harder, and then scratched madly at it with both paws.

Suddenly the latch clicked. Surprised and pleased, Slashpaw pushed the window open. It slid open sideways, and Slashpaw hopped down onto the snow-coated grass. He raced over to the place he and Doom were to meet: a young tree at the side of the building.

"Doom!" he called as he ran up to it. His father turned to see him, and his tail waved in the air.

"I was worried you'd be trapped in there," he purred as he climbed out.

"Then why did you send me in?" Slashpaw asked, head cocked to the side.

"Because I knew you'd be clever enough to escape!" Doom laughed, rubbing his cheek against Slashpaw's in a rare moment of tenderness.

"Then why where you so worried?" Slashpaw was quite confused. Doom wasn't making sense.

"Because that's what parents do, Slashpaw," said Doom, his ruby eyes meeting Slashpaw's identical ones. "You'll understand some day. Now, I believe that our friend is waiting for us."

And the pair of cats raced toward the window, leaving two sets of paw prints, one set large and the other small, in the snow.


	20. Chapter 20

"This way," said Slashpaw, poking his head through the window. He leapt onto the platform and then down to the tile floor. Doom followed. When they were about half way across the room, the door creaked open.

"Twoleg!" Slashpaw hissed.

"Over here!" Doom launched himself over to a pile of boxes in the corner of the room and hid behind it, Slashpaw on his tail.

The same Twoleg that had carried Slashpaw into the building stepped into the room. When he saw that Slashpaw was no longer on the platform, he cried out and rushed toward it.

"Come on," Doom whispered. The two cats raced silently across the floor and out the door.

"Which way now?" asked Doom.

"I... I'm not sure," Slashpaw said. "I couldn't see much because I was covered in a Twoleg pelt–"

"A jacket?"

"Sure." They padded into the center of the lobby and looked around. There was another platform situated across from the main doors with a chair behind it. On either side was a door.

"I can hear barking coming from that door," Slashpaw said, gesturing to the door to the right of the platform.

"So maybe we should try the other door and see if that is where they keep the cats," Doom concluded. The two trotted to the door on the left side. Doom set his shoulder against it and pushed. Surprisingly, the door scraped open slowly. As Slashpaw slipped through, the scent of many, many cats greeted him.

"Great DreamClan...," he breathed. "Doom! You have to see this!"

Cages upon cages filled the room, lined up against the walls, stacked one on top of the other, all filled with cats. Some were sleeping, eating, talking to their neighbors, or just sitting around and staring blankly into the air.

"Wow," Doom said as he joined Slashpaw. "I wonder why the Twolegs are trapping so many cats in here!"

"Ice?" Slashpaw called. "Ice, where are you?" A few cats turned at the sound of his voice, but most just ignored him. How would they ever find Ice in here? There were over a Clan's worth of cats!

"Hey!" called a cat from a cage nearby. Doom and Slashpaw hurried over to her cage. A young she-cat was inside. She was old enough to probably have seen quite a few moons in the warriors den, but younger than Doom. She had glossy, chocolate-brown fur with a white-tipped tail, one white hind paw, and a small crescent moon shape on her chest.

"How did you get out of your cages?" she asked, head cocked to the side.

"We didn't," Doom said. "We're here to rescue a friend."

"You mean you snuck in here from outside?" she asked, sounding impressed.

"Yes," Slashpaw said, proud. "Have you seen a dark tabby she-cat about my size get brought in here?"

"Yeah, just yesterday," answered the she-cat. "But if you came here for her, you're too late."

"What?"

"Someone adopted her earlier today, just after the shelter opened for the day," she said. "I was surprised. Only one day here and then she's gone! Some cats here have been here for years."

"What do you mean?" asked Slashpaw.

"A housefolk came and took her home to be his pet," she explained. Slashpaw assumed that 'housefolk' was the kittypet word for a Twoleg.

"But we've been outside all morning and we didn't see any Twolegs come in," Doom said.

"It must have been when we were looking for water," Slashpaw said, heart sinking. He had been sure that they would be able to rescue Ice and return to the forest, but now how would they ever find her?

"Thank you for your help," Doom said. "Er... what was your name?"

"I'm Luna," she said. "And listen: I think I know where your friend was taken to. I recognized the housefolk that took her. I was born in a house near his."

Doom and Slashpaw exchanged hopeful glances. Slashpaw didn't know what a 'house' was, but this sounded promising.

"Could you tell us how to get there?"asked Doom.

"I can do better," said Luna. "I can bring you there. Just get me out of this cage!"

"How?" Doom asked, studying the front of the cage.

"I've been watching the housefolk who feed us, and I think I've figured out how to open the cage. Do you see that latch on the left?"

"Yes."

"I can't reach the latch from inside the cage. See that little part that points down? Flip it up with your paw. Good. Now slide it over. No, the other way! There you go!" Luna pushed the door of the cage open with a forepaw. "Yes! I'm free! Thank you."

Doom and Slashpaw stepped to the side to let her out.

"I'm Doom," said the black cat, "and this is my son Slashpaw."

"Nice to meet you," she said. "Now where do we go?" she asked, stepping onto the tile – once white, now discolored with many years of use.

"Well, I guess we can go out the same way we got in," Doom said, looking at Slashpaw, who nodded. The three cats trotted to the door, and Doom pushed it open. They were nearly to the room with the open window when a door past the cat room swung open. Slashpaw caught a whiff of kittypet food and dog food. A Twoleg stepped into the lobby, arms full of paper bags that smelled strongly of kittypet food.

"Run!" Doom yowled. The three cats raced to the door as the Twoleg spotted them and cried out. The door was half open, and the cats slipped in.

"No," whispered Slashpaw as they slid to a stop in the middle of the room. The window was closed.

"Slashpaw, can you open it again?" asked Doom.

"I'll try!" was his response. He threw himself upwards onto the platform and then onto the windowsill. He pawed desperately at the latch. The Twoleg had closed it tightly.

"It won't open!" he screeched in panic. Just then, the Twoleg crashed through the door.

"Run!" Luna yowled. The Twoleg ran at her and Doom. Luna dodged to his right and Doom to his left. The Twoleg grabbed at Doom, who managed to slip past him, and then the Twoleg ran forward toward Slashpaw. The apprentice shrank against the window, fur standing on end with terror.

"Jump!" Doom cried. Slashpaw was too scared to do anything but obey. He leapt onto the Twoleg's head (the Twoleg yelled in surprise and reached up with his clumsy paws to grab him), and then onto a counter, scattering the strange Twoleg things everywhere. He ran along it to the end and jumped down.

"Come on!" Doom said as he raced toward them. The three cats sped out the door and into the main room.

"How do we get out?" Slashpaw panted.

"I don't –" Doom began to say when Luna interrupted.

"There's a housefolk opening the front doors!" she cried. The three cats sprinted forward and, as the new Twoleg opened the door from the outside to get in, slipped through onto the snowy path, ignoring the Twoleg's yowl of shock. They raced across the path and snow-laden grass.

"This way!" Doom said, taking the lead. They scrambled up a fence and into a Twoleg's garden.

"We have to hide," Luna said. "They'll be searching for us."

"Over here," Slashpaw said. This garden had a row of pine trees at the back. "We can hide in these pines."

"Good idea, Slashpaw," Doom said. They walked as fast as they could to the trees, glancing over their shoulders for pursuing Twolegs.

Slashpaw led the way, ducking under the low boughs and climbing up near the trunk. Doom and Luna followed close behind, Luna hissing when a twig poked her in the flank. Slashpaw stopped about halfway up the trunk where the branches were the thickest. The trio made themselves as comfortable as they could. Slashpaw found a thick limb and lay on it, his hind legs hanging off the sides and his forepaws under his chin. Now all they could do was wait.

Slashpaw was so comfortable with the scent of pine swirling around him that he nearly fell asleep. He couldn't help but think of his old Clan with the pine needles whispering to each other in the breeze. He longed for his nest in the apprentice den and this training bouts with Windystar. How long had he been away? He couldn't even remember. Long enough for a new litter of kits to be born? Long enough for a few of the apprentice den's residents to move to the warriors den? Had Skykit, Heatherkit, and Frostkit been apprenticed yet?

Slashpaw had to purr when he thought of Whitefeather's kits. The three bundles of fluffy energy had been the closest thing he'd ever had to siblings. He decided that they were not apprentices yet. They couldn't be old enough! He hadn't been gone that long... had he?

Would he ever know? Would he ever see PineClan again?


	21. Chapter 21

"Ready, Bluepaw?" asked Cloudstorm. The sleek apprentice nodded, determined to do this right.

The Clan was gathering by Star Rock. Bluepaw and his mentor walked, stride for stride, to join the rest of the Clan.

"Bluepaw," called his father, voice ringing throughout the camp, "join me on Star Rock." The apprentice bounded forward and leapt easily onto the cold stone.

"I, Windystar, leader of PineClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice," Windystar began, muzzle pointed to the cloudy evening sky. "He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." He shifted his eyes to Bluepaw. "Bluepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Bluepaw met his father's gaze, as serious as he had ever been. "I do."

Windystar's green eyes grew warm. "Then by the powers of DreamClan I give you your warrior name: Bluepaw, from this moment you will be known as Bluestorm. DreamClan honors your bravery and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of PineClan."

Windystar rested his muzzle on Bluestorm's forehead. "I am so proud of you," he whispered. The new warrior purred as he licked his father's shoulder.

"Bluestorm! Bluestorm! Bluestorm!" chanted the Clan.

"Bluestorm!" a separate voice called. Bluestorm looked down to see Cloudstorm at the base of the rock, meowing at him. "Come on, we have to go."

Bluestorm, with a last glance at his father, slipped down and followed his former mentor through the crowd.

"Congratulations, Bluestorm!" Leafwhisper called as they passed her. Bluestorm nodded awkwardly at her.

The two toms slipped out of camp and slid silently through the shadowy twilight forest.

"We must get there before nightfall," Cloudstorm said. They broke into a run, the cold winter air biting at their fur.

"Here we are," Cloudstorm said as the vigil stump came into view. Bluestorm raced forward and vaulted onto the woody pedestal.

"This is great!" he laughed. "I'm going to be the greatest warrior that PineClan has ever seen!"

Cloudstorm twitched his whiskers. "Okay, Bluestorm, your duty is to guard the territory from this stump. I will be back when the sun rises."

"I understand," Bluestorm said. His mentor melted into the shadows, and Bluestorm surveyed the pines as they swayed in the frigid winter wind. He was the sole protector of PineClan for the whole night!

The sounds of the night flowed around him as the sun set. Bluestorm turned slowly on his sump, raking the snowy trees with his sapphire eyes. Time passed, and he grew bored. The warrior sat on the stump and shivered as the leafbare wind tugged at his pelt. His coat was thicker for the winter, but was still no match for the cold. Bluestorm lay down, resting his head on his paws.

Just as his eyes began to droop, he heard a rustling sound. His head jerked up and he stared in the direction of the noise, ears pricked and claws out, heart pounding. The rustling sounded again, and Bluestorm launched himself off of the stump, growling. He plunged into a thicket of brambles, where he had pinpointed the sound.

A large shrew darted away from him.

Bluestorm turned back to his stump — pulling painful thorns from his pelt — whether disappointed or relieved, he didn't know.

The night crawled by like a sickly tortoise. Bluestorm found himself glancing over his shoulder many times, fur prickling, with the distinct feeling that he was being watched.

About halfway through his watch, Bluestorm heard a twig crack. He turned around so fast that his tail nearly slapped him in the muzzle. A bird flew out of a pine to his left. _Just a mousebrained bird,_ he thought, forcing his fur to lie down. Just as he managed to convince himself that there was nothing there, he whipped around, sure he had seen a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows.

"Who's there?" he called, hoping that his voice wasn't shaking too much, and gripping the stump with his claws.

A screech echoed through the woods as three large cats dropped from the trees ahead of him, claws and teeth glinting.

Bluestorm stood as tall as he could, back arched, fluffing out his fur to look bigger. "This is PineClan territory," he growled as fiercely as he could. "You are not welcome h —"

One of the cats yowled and leapt forward, the other two close behind. The lead cat's paws met Bluestorm's pelt, and the two tumbled over the edge of the stump.

"Oof!" Bluestorm grunted as he hit the ground, although he was slightly cushioned by the blanket of snow. The other cat's long claws dug into his pelt, sending fiery flashes of pain along his body. As the hot breath of his enemy ruffled the fur on his neck, Bluestorm lashed out as his face, growling in grim satisfaction as his claws sliced open skin.

The other cat — one of Doom's rogues, but Bluestorm's guess — pulled back a the pain, and the new warrior managed to throw him off. _But the other two are coming_, Bluestorm thought, shaking snow from his pelt as he stood up. _How can I ever hope to defeat three at once?_

Just then, a fearsome caterwaul sounded from somewhere in the pines. Bluestorm's thoughts raced. More rogues?

But the other three cats were looking a bit panicky as well.

"Bluestorm!"

The warrior pivoted, his eyes widening in happiness as Cloudstorm and Whitespot raced toward him.

"Watch out!" Cloudstorm cried. Bluestorm felt claws at his back as a rogue pounced. He let himself fall, careful to keep his paws under him. As the rogue hissed in triumph, leaning forward to sink his teeth in, Bluestorm pushed upward with all his might, flinging the cat off of his back. While he was down, the warrior sprang. He pinned the other cat down on his side and began to shred the rogue's pelt with his claws. Only when he began to scream in agony did Bluestorm let go and drive the other into the woods.

"Bluestorm!" Whitespot called. He was backed against a vast tree trunk by a huge rogue, who was delivering a nasty blow to the warrior's ear.

The rogue was balancing mainly on his two hind legs as he clawed at Whitespot with both forepaws. Bluestorm hooked his paws over the larger cat's shoulders and used his whole weight to drag him down onto his back, jumping out of the way in time to avoid being squashed flat. Bluestorm bit deep and hard at the cat's shoulder while Whitespot tore at his tender stomach.

The rogue twisted and fought until he was free. Then he hightailed it into the woods like a young kit running to her mother when her siblings have been playing too roughly.

The last rogue was putting up a good fight, but when she saw that her comrades were gone, she decided to head out. But Cloudstorm had different ideas. With a yowl, the gray and white tom launched himself at the rogue and pinned her down.

"Whitespot! Bluestorm!" he called. "Come over here! We're taking this one prisoner."

The other two warriors raced toward their companion, their paws sending bits of snow flying through the air behind them. The rogue was struggling under Cloudstorm's grip. Her fur was a dusty gray, and she had four white paws. Bluestorm's former mentor began to let her up once Whitespot and Bluestorm were in position to intercept her should she try to escape. With a hiss, the rogue she-cat pushed Cloudstorm off of her the rest of the way and got to her paws, eying them warily.

"We won't hurt you if you cooperate," Whitespot promised.

"Come," Cloudstorm said. "We'll take her back to camp."

The gray-and-white warrior lead the way. Whitespot and Bluestorm flanked the rogue, carefully watching her every move.

As they progressed through the forest, Bluestorm caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Without a second thought, he launched himself after the mouse that had broken cover and was now racing across the snow.

"Bluestorm! Get back here!" Cloudstorm cried. The youngest warrior turned back in time to see their hostage try to run for it. Whitespot, with the reflexes born of a lifetime of training, twisted on the spot and managed to catch her before she got too far.

"What do you think you're doing?" Whitespot demanded as Bluestorm rejoined the group.

"I was trying to catch the mouse," he replied.

"Don't bother lecturing him, Whitespot," Cloudstorm sighed. "He never listens."

The anger faded from the eldest tom's eyes. "And I thought that Leafwhisper was bad. DreamClan, if the two of you ever had kits, I think the whole Clan would be destroyed!"

Bluestorm felt hot under his fur. "Can we get going?"

The other two warriors exchanged infuriatingly knowing glances, their whiskers twitching.

They soon reached the PineClan camp, cold, tired, and sore. Hazeltail, who was on guard duty at the entrance, stood up as they approached.

"What happened?" she asked. "Who is this?" The she-cat's usually friendly green eyes narrowed as she studied the newcomer. The rogue glared back defiantly, lip curling with a growl.

"Get Windystar," Cloudstorm ordered, ignoring her questions. Hazeltail obediently trotted away.

Windystar soon appeared, his fur appearing almost white in the moonlight.

"What happened?" he demanded. "Is every cat all right?" From the dark, harried look in his dark green eyes, Bluestorm could tell that he hadn't slept at all that night.

"We're fine, save for a few bites and scratches," Whitespot reported. "Nothing that Forestpelt can't fix up."

Windystar visibly relaxed. "Since it is not yet dawn, and you have an extra cat with you, I will assume that the vigil was interrupted."

"That's right," Cloudstorm said. "We were ambushed."

"Doom again?"

"He wasn't there himself," Whitespot said, "but I would assume that the rogues were part of his lot."

"Maybe she can give us some answers," Windystar mused, his eyes turned to the rogue. "What is your name, stranger?"

"Alley," she replied. "What's it to you?" Bluestorm thought that she seemed uneasy, but was trying to act tough.

"I am Windystar, leader of PineClan," said the tabby. "These are some of my warriors, Whitespot, Cloudstorm, and Bluestorm." Each cat nodded in turn as he said their names.

Alley said nothing, but fixed Windystar with a reproachful stare.

Cloudstorm turned to his former apprentice. "I suppose that you will have to finish your vigil in camp."

"I suppose so," Bluestorm agreed.

"Remember, it is called a _silent_ vigil for a reason," Cloudstorm said with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "You can go by the nursery. The queens have a spot cleared of snow where they like to sit on sunny days."

Bluestorm opened his mouth to reply, but Cloudstorm shot him a look that reminded him of the 'no talking' rule. He nodded instead and padded across the thin layer of snow to the nursery.

Dawn approached very slowly. The sound of the snoring queens and kits inside of their cozy nests made Bluestorm's eyelids droop. He could hear the sound of Windystar and Whitespot interrogating Alley, but they were too far away for him to make out what they were saying. From Whitespot's frustrated growls, he could tell that they weren't getting much information out of her.

As the sun finally peeked up over the horizon, Windystar approached, his light gray fur shining in the early sunlight.

"Your vigil is over," he said, sitting beside Bluestorm.

"Good," Bluestorm said, with a teasing glance at his father. He stretched and yawned. "That was the longest night of my life."

"I'm glad that you weren't hurt," Windystar said quietly.

"Same here," he replied jokingly, although he was touched by the tabby's concern. "But I was wondering, how did Cloudstorm and Whitespot get there so quickly to help?"

"They were there the whole time," Windystar explained. "Cloudstorm probably told you that you would be on your own for the whole night, but really he was never far away, always keeping watch over you. That is the real tradition: the mentor keeping watch over his former apprentice."

"But why was Whitespot there too?"

"These are dangerous times," Windystar sighed. "I was afraid that Doom would attack, and it seems that my caution was not unfounded. I wanted an extra warrior around in case of trouble."

"I'm glad you did," Bluestorm said. "I would never have won that battle by myself, and I doubt that Cloudstorm and I alone could have beat them."

With a squeal of excitement, Frostkit, Skykit, and Heatherkit came running out of the nursery, followed closely by their yawning mother. Skykit pounced on Heatherkit and bowled her over, and Frostkit eagerly joined the fray. Windystar purred as he watched their antics.

"Careful!" called Whitefeather as Skykit pinned her brother down. Frostkit lashed out at the gray-and-white kit with his hind paws, launching her through the air. Bluestorm yowled in surprise when she crashed into his flank.

Skykit rolled and got to her paws, shaking the snow from her pelt. "Sorry, Bluestorm!" she squeaked, looking embarrassed.

"Run along, now," Bluestorm said, flicking the kit with his tail. As Skykit scampered back to her siblings, Windystar turned to his son.

"I can't help but think of your days in the nursery," he said. "You were quite a pawful for poor Ferntail."

Bluestorm decided to change the subject. "Did you get much information out of Alley?"

"No," Windystar sighed. "She's quite a stubborn she-cat. It's too bad that you couldn't capture a more talkative rogue."

Bluestorm nodded, and then yawned. He was exhausted from a long, hard night.

"You had better get to the warriors den and rest," Windystar said. "I think Leafwhisper said that she would build a nest for you." Bluestorm thought that this sounded like a good idea, so he stood and headed toward his new den.


	22. Chapter 22

The moon was high in the sky when Slashpaw, Doom, and Luna decided that it was safe to move on.

"Where exactly is Ice, Luna?" Doom asked.  
"Not far from here, actually," the brown she-cat said. "This way."

Luna trotted across the Twoleg garden, her white hind paw flashing in the darkness with each step. Doom and Slashpaw followed, with the distinctive, graceful gait of a feline.

They walked and walked, twisting and turning through the streets of this small Twoleg place. The rough pavement scratched at Slashpaw's pads, and the foul fumes from the Twoleg monsters stung his throat. Luna sprang and clawed her way up a wooden fence. She stood on top, silent, staring at the Twoleg nest on the other side.

"Is this it?" Slashpaw asked her. "Is this where they took Ice?"

"No," Luna said after a moment, tearing her gaze away from the Twoleg nest to rest it upon the young cat. "No. This is the house where I was born and raised. I – I just wanted to see it again." She slid back down the fence and onto the pavement.

"I lived there for my whole kittenhood," she explained, her tail drooping. "Then I went exploring once when I was a little older. I got lost, and a housefolk found me and brought me to the animal shelter. I was adopted after a while, but that family had some little children, and I wasn't used to children, so I left. I came back here, back to my housefolk... but they didn't want me anymore. My mother, Princess, had a new litter by then, so they brought me to the shelter."

"I'm sorry -" Slashpaw started to say, but Doom cut him off.

"Princess?" he asked. "Is... is she a calico?"

"Yes, she is," Luna replied, looking confused. "She was also adopted from by my family a long time ago. She used to live in a different neighborhood."

Doom looked at Slashpaw, delight in his eyes. Without another word, he launched himself up and over the fence and disappeared.

"What was that all about?" Luna asked, clearly baffled.

"I … well, Doom's mother was named Princess too," the gray apprentice explained. "She lived in a different Twoleg place when he and his siblings were born, but then she vanished. He hasn't seen her in seasons."

"Oh!" Luna exclaimed. "Well... I guess we had better follow him."

On the other side of the fence, the snow-covered grass was the short length typical for Twoleg gardens. They spotted Doom standing on his hind legs, peering through a bright window, his fore paws pressed against the glass.

"There she is!" he hissed to them as they drew close. Slashpaw pressed a paw to the side of the Twoleg nest and peeked over the bottom edge of the window so that just his eyes were showing. He could see a light-filled room like the one where Whiskers' water bowls had been kept. He remembered Ice explaining once that this room was where Twolegs kept their food, and that it was called... a chicken? No, that wasn't it. _A kitchen,_ Slashpaw thought. _That's what it is called._ A calico queen was snoozing in a basket on the wood-covered floor. If she had been a Clan cat, Slashpaw guessed that she would have a couple seasons left in the warriors den or the nursery before she retired.

Doom rapped on the clear glass of the window with his paw, and Princess woke up. Bright green eyes searched the kitchen for the source of the noise, and pricked ears flicked this way and that. Doom tapped harder, the queen's questing gaze landed on the window. She rose to her dainty paws and stepped out of the basket, careful not to step on any of her snoozing kits. Slashpaw watched as she walked closer to the window.

On the other side of Doom, Slashpaw could hear Luna shifting. When he looked, he noticed that she had moved closer to the window.

Princess' eyes grew wide as she recognized her daughter, and she rushed toward the outside cats. Then she stopped, and jerked her head to the side, mouth forming words that were unheard by Slashpaw, muffled by the glass. The calico queen ran to Slashpaw's right and disappeared through a dark doorway. Moments later, the cat flap at the Twoleg nest's door swung, and Princess appeared.

"Luna!" she called, running toward them. The white patches on her fur glowed bright in the starlight.

"Mother!" the brown she-cat said, moving forward through the snow to greet Princess. Purring, the two females rubbed their heads together.

"It's so good to see you, Luna," said the calico. "I've been wondering what had happened to you."

"There's no need for concern," Luna assured her. "I'm fine."

"Princess." Doom stepped forward.

"Hello," she said, looking a bit confused. "I..."

"It's me, Slash," said the small, black tom. "Your son."

"Slash!" Princess cried. "You're alive! I never thought I'd see you again!" She left Luna to greet Doom, overjoyed to see him after all of their seasons apart.

"I'd like you to meet my son, Slashpaw," Doom said after Princess had finished rubbing her cheek against his. Princess' green eyes met his, and she purred.

"Hello," she said. "What a fine-looking tom!" Slashpaw stepped forward to greet his grandmother. Before this journey, he hadn't known any of his grandparents. Silvertail's mother and father, Nightfall and Mousepelt, had both died before he was born.

"How are the kittens?," Luna asked, jerking her head toward the kitchen window.

Princess purred again. "Would you like to go inside and see them? I would bring them out to you, but it's much too cold right now."

Luna replied that she would very much like to see the kits, so their group followed Princess into the warm Twoleg nest. The floor coverings felt strange under Slashpaw's paws, but they were much nicer to walk on than the rough pavement outside.

"Kittens," Princess called softly as they entered the kitchen. "Wake up, kittens!"

A fluffy gray tabby poked her head over the side of the basket. "What is it, Mother?"

One of her siblings jumped out of the basket, his long, marmalade-and-white fur sticking up in odd places, and stared at the three strangers. "Mother, who are these?"

"Come on out," Princess encouraged. "I have some kin for you to meet." The gray tabby came out first, followed by an orange tabby and another gray. Princess began to introduce them."This is Pepper –" she indicated the second gray tabby, who was pressing close to her mother – "and Poppy –" the first gray kitten gave them a small "hi" – "Junebug is the orange tabby, and the only male is Simba." Simba promptly pounced on Junebug, who squirmed free.

"Hello," said Simba, the marmalade kit, as his former prey tackled Pepper. "Who are you?"

"I'm Luna," said the chocolate-brown she-cat. "Your half sister. This is Doom, your half brother, and his son Slashpaw."

"Hi," chorused the kits.

"Doom?" asked Princess, looking confused. "But –"

"Yes," said Doom distractedly, for Poppy had just begun to attack his tail. "That's what I'm called these days."

"I'm _tired_, Mother," Pepper whined ,and Junebug gave a huge yawn.

"All right, kittens," Princess called, "time to get back in bed." Junebug, Pepper, and Simba climbed obediently back into the basket, but it took quite a bit of persuading to get Poppy to abandon her attacks on Doom's tail.

"Luna, is Ice near to here?" Slashpaw asked pointedly as Poppy clambered back into the basket.

"Oh!" the she-cat exclaimed over Simba's squeak of protest as his tabby sister trod on his tail. Slashpaw wondered if the visit had temporarily driven the rescue mission from her mind. "Yes – um, it's not too far from here."

"You're leaving?" Princess asked. "Why so soon?"

Doom quickly explained about Ice. "We need to find her before we move on," he concluded.

"Well, you must stay safe," Princess said, rushing forward to embrace her family. Her cheerful tone could not quite mask her sad gaze, and Slashpaw knew that she wished to spend more time with her long-lost kits. "Doom, may I ask you something?" said the queen.

"Yes, of course," was his reply.

"What happened to Lily and Chester?" Princess asked. "Are... are they still alive?"

"Lily isn't," Doom said softly. Princess' tail drooped and her eyes darkened.

"And Chester?" she whispered.

Doom hesitated. Slashpaw knew he was wondering how much to tell her. "He … I haven't seen him in a long time, but I've heard that he's still strong."

Princess sighed, looking relieved. "Good. Please come visit me again – all of you – if you happen to be in the area!"

A cold blast of winter wind pinned Slashpaw's whiskers to his face as he hopped through the cat door. He hissed quietly and shivered as he paws sank into the snow. Doom soon appeared, followed by Luna, who struck out toward the fence without a word. Slashpaw glanced at his father, who nodded, and they followed in equal silence. They scrambled over the fence and followed Luna past three more Twoleg nests.

"Here we are," Luna said, stopping in front of the fence-less fourth Twoleg nest's garden.

"What's that?" Slashpaw hissed suddenly, shrinking against Doom's flank.

"What's what?" Doom asked, ruby eyes scanning the garden carefully. Slashpaw raised a trembling paw, pointing in the direction of the strange thing he had spotted looming beside the nest.

Luna purred in amusement when she spotted the object.

"It won't hurt you, Slashpaw," she said. "come and see." She placed her tail around her nephew's shoulders and strode forward. Slashpaw followed, heart still racing.

It was nearly as tall as a Twoleg, but with three circular parts – like an insect – made out of packed-together snow, one resting on top of another, on top of another. Stones were arranged on the top sphere in an imitation of a Twoleg face. Sticks were attatched to the middle in the manner of Twoleg forelegs, and a few pieces of Twoleg pelts adorned the snowy creation.

"What _is_ it?" Slashpaw asked, staring up at it.

"It's called a snowman," Luna explained. "Young housefolk build them for fun."

As Slashpaw wondered at this strange Twoleg behavior, Doom joined them. "So," he said, "Ice is inside this house?"

"Yes," said Luna. "But I don't know how we are going to get her out. The house should be locked up against the cold; they won't have windows open or anything like that. I think the only way to get in would be for a housefolk to open the door."

"Hm..." Doom said thoughtfully. "What would cause a housefolk to open a door?"

"Well, they're all asleep right now," Luna said. "But the adult male gets up early in the morning and leaves for the day in his car."

"One of us could slip inside when he opens the door," Doom mused.

"That didn't work so well last time," Slashpaw muttered.

"We'll just have to try again," said Doom, who had heard him. "Who is going to do it?"

"I will," Luna said at once. "I know the layout of the house. I know what to expect; I've lived with housefolk my whole life."

Doom nodded in assent. "Is there a place where we can shelter for the night?"

"The garage is where we'll need to be when the sun rises," she said. "We can sleep in there."

"A garage is where the Twolegs keep their monsters," Doom explained, noticing Slashpaw's confused expression. He turned to his half sister. "How...?"

"I know how to get in, don't worry," she said.

"Lead on," Doom replied.

The trio skirted around the snowman and around the back of the nest. At the opposite end, Luna crouched beside a cat door.

"It's latched on the inside," she said, "but I think that I can get it..." She wedged a chocolate-colored paw between the flap and the door. After a minute, she said, "Got it!" and pushed through the cat door.

"Go on," Doom said to Slashpaw. "I'll be right behind you."

Slashpaw still did not like entering Twoleg buildings, but his legs and heartbeat were quite steady as he hopped in after the she-cat. Slashpaw's feet hit the floor with a soft slap, and he bit back a hiss as he found himself snout-to-snout with a sleeping Twoleg monster. Then Doom's reassuring bulk pressed against his flank, and Slashpaw let the stiff fur on his neck relax.

"We still have a while to sleep before it's time," Luna said. She slipped under the monster's chin and settled down, leaning against a round, black forepaw. Slashpaw, however, curled up against a wall, as far away from the monster as possible. Doom joined him.

Although Slashpaw's body was tired from their starlit trek, the ground of the garage was cold and hard – his discomfort and his buzzing mind made it impossible to sleep. He was worried about Ice and worried for PineClan. His memories of the Clan had sweetened considerably with his time away from them.

Doom curled his tail around his son, and Slahspaw pressed against him. _Everything will be all right,_ he told himself. _We'll get Ice out tomorrow, and then we can be on our way to the forest._

"It'll be okay," he murmured to himself, eyelids drooping, and Doom purred. The rumbling sound soothed him, and soon he was asleep.

Slashpaw could hear it. A bird was in the tree, singing, unaware of his presence. A summer wind ruffled his pelt as he ran through the tall grass, keeping low, He streaked up the tree like a squirrel and made his way toward the bird. A branch swung in the wind and poked him between the shoulder blades. He hissed quietly as it poked him again and again, but the bird was near. He crouched down, ready to attack, but the poking branch grew more and more persistent.

"Wake up! Slashpaw! Wake up!"

Another sharp poke brought Slashpaw fully awake. Luna's face swam into view above him. "Awake? It's about time."

"I'm awake," Slashpaw grunted, getting to his sleep-clumsy paws.

Doom was up already and grooming himself a few tail-lengths away. Slashpaw began licking his fur as well, grooming until every hair was in its place.

"I can hear the housefolk moving around inside," Luna said. Slashpaw glanced at a window and saw early morning light streaming in.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in too?" Doom asked his half sister.

"I'll be fine," Luna assured him. "I've spent a lot of time in this house. I'll be fine!" she repeated. Doom had opened his mouth to speak, but nodded curtly instead.

"He's nearing the door," Luna said, ears pricked. "You two hide. Be ready to bolt." There was a large, thin square of wood leaning against the wall near the cat door. Slashpaw and Doom took shelter underneath it. Their pelts brushed, gray against black.

At the foot of the door there was a step. Luna perched on top of it, tense and crouching, eyes fixed intently on the white-colored door.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Slashpaw caught a glimpse of a large Twoleg male talking over his shoulder. Then Luna sprang. The Twoleg let out an exclamation of shock as the she-cat vaulted over his foot and into the house.

It was torture for Slashpaw to wait without doing anything, without knowing what was happening inside. His ears were pricked, his muscles tense, his claws gripping the hard ground. After an eternity, Luna burst through the still-open doorway, flanked by a dark tabby she-cat.

"Ice!" Slashpaw cried happily.

"Go! Go!" Luna yowled. "Get out!" Slashpaw retreated from under the board and bounded out other cat door without hesitation. His paws slipped on a slick patch of snow as he landed and he skidded forward, sending chunks of the stuff flying through the air. The rest of the cats were through the door by the time Slashpaw had managed to scramble to his feet.

"The trees!" Doom called. "To the trees!" Slashpaw nodded and high-tailed it to a copse of leafless trees a ways behind the Twoleg nest. Once the whole group was safely hidden in the dense, snow-covered brush that coated the ground of the small grove, Slashpaw flopped down onto his rump.

"Slashpaw! Doom! I'm so glad to see you!" Ice cried, rushing foreward to rub her cheek against Slashpaw's and then Doom's. Slashpaw purred. He had missed his friend in their short time apart.

Doom introduced Ice and Luna and gave the tabby a quick version of how they had found her.

"I'm very grateful," Ice said. "I didn't expect you to come for me."

"Why wouldn't we?" Slashpaw asked seriously. "you said it yourself. We are friends, and friends look out for each others' pelts."

Ice gave him a glowing look. "So, are we headed to PineClan territory now?"

"Yes," said Doom. "They need to know what Blood is capable of."

"We need to clear your name, too," Slashpaw put in.

Doom nodded. "And I have a score to settle with my _dear _brother."

Slashpaw turned to Luna, who had not spoken since Doom's introduction of her. The she-cat was staring into the distance with a blank look in her green eyes.

"Luna?" he asked. "What are you planning to do?"

"What do you mean?" she said, eyes snapping to Slashpaw's face.

"Where are you going to go?" he asked. "It's the middle of winter, we can't leave you on your own."

"Well, I … I don' t know." She glanced at the Twoleg nest, and the gray apprentice did not miss the longing in her eyes.

"You miss being a housecat, don't you?" he said quietly.

Luna opened, her mouth, closed it, and then nodded sadly.

"These people will take you in," Ice said, flicking her tail at the Twoleg nest. "Just hang around and look hungry and pitiful. It always works."

"I lived here before," said Luna, "and it didn't work out so well."

"Give it another chance," Slashpaw coaxed.

"They're kind-hearted people," Ice said. "It will be fine."

"I … okay," the she cat said. "I will. Thanks."

"Thank _you_," said Doom, "for helping us get our friend back." He draped his tail over Ice's shoulders, and she blinked happily.

After saying goodbye to all three cats and rubbing her head against theirs, Luna pushed through some brush and set off across the snowy yard. Slashpaw wondered if he would ever see her again.

Doom, Ice, and Slashpaw rested in the copse for a while before deciding to move on as well. Luna's new home was near the edge of the Twoleg place, and soon they were plodding through an empty field. Slashpaw and Ice walked side-by-side while Doom lead them.

"I thought I'd be there forever," Ice whispered in Slashpaw's ear. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"Well, you're here with us now," Slashpaw said. He was finally headed back to the forest. But the question was: What would he find he arrived?


	23. Allegiances

**ALLEGIANCES**

**PINECLAN**

**LEADER** **GRAYSTAR - **long-furred gray tom with amber eyes and white muzzle, chest, & paws

**DEPUTY** **WINDYSTEP - **light gray tabby with white chest & tail tip. Stormy green eyes.

**APPRENTICE: LIONPAW**

**MEDICINE CAT****BLOSSOMFUR - **light brown she-cat with light green eyes.

**APPRENTICE: FORESTPAW**

**WARRIORS** (toms, and she-cats without kits)

**SUNSTORM** - bright ginger tom with white chest, belly, paws, tail tip, and clear blue eyes.

**MARSHPELT** - dark brown tom with dark green eyes.

**WHITESPOT - **large brown and white tom with amber eyes and long fur.

**APPRENTICE: OTTERPAW**

**MOOSEFUR - **big dark brown tom with cream paws and brown eyes.

**STRIPEFUR - **light gray she-cat with dark tabby stripes.

**MOTHFLIGHT - **light brown she-cat with dark green eyes.

**APPRENTICE: HAWKPAW**

**DAISYHEART - **light brown she-cat with bright green eyes.

**BRAVEHEART - **golden tabby tom with green eyes.

**CROWFLIGHT - **pure black tom with brown eyes.

**SMOKEFANG - **dark gray tom.

**BROOKFUR - **light brown tabby queen with dark brown eyes.

**CLOUDSTORM - **gray and white tom with blue eyes.

**APPRENTICE: GINGERPAW**

**CEDARHEART - **muscular brown tom with hazel eyes.

**APPRENTICE: HAZELPAW**

**SANDSTRIPE - **light ginger she-cat with amber eyes and white muzzle, chest, & paws.

**LITTLESTREAM - **small tawny tabby tom.

**APPRENTICES** (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

**HAWKPAW - **ginger and white tom with fierce amber eyes.

**LIONPAW - **light ginger tom with dark brown eyes.

**GINGERPAW - **dark ginger she-cat with dark brown eyes.

**FORESTPAW** - dark brown tom with leaf-green eyes. Medicine cat apprentice

**OTTERPAW - **light brown tom with sky-blue eyes and dark paws.

**HAZELPAW - **dark brown she-cat with bright green eyes.

**QUEENS** (She-cats expecting or nursing kits)

**WILLOWFUR - **light brown with green eyes (mother of Whitespot's kits).

**FERNTAIL - **brown tabby with green eyes (mother of Graystar's kits).

**SILVERTAIL - **silver with blue eyes and a lighter tail-tip (expecting kits).

**WHITEFEATHER - **white with light gray eyes (expecting Cloudstorm's kits).

**KITS** (Under six moons old, in the nursery with their mothers)

**LEAFKIT - **White and light brown she-kit with green eyes (kit of Willowfur).

**ROSEKIT - **White and reddish-brown she-kit with blue eyes (kit of Willowfur).

**BLUEKIT - **blue-ish tom kit with blue eyes (deceased mother, cared for by Ferntail).

**BRIARKIT - **brown tabby tom with green eyes(kit of Ferntail).

**ORCHIDKIT - **light ginger spotted she-kit with amber eyes(kit of Ferntail).

**ELDERS** (Former warriors and queens, now retired)

**RUNNINGBELLY - **lean tawny tom.

**SHREDDEDEAR - **dark gray tom with a shredded ear.

**KINKEDWHISKER - **gray queen with severely bent whiskers.

**CLIFFCLAN**

**LEADER** **WHITESTAR - **big white tom.

**DEPUTY** **MOSSFUR** - a dark gray she-cat with bright green eyes.

**MEDICINE CAT** **FLOWERHEART - **a brown she-cat with darker brown spots.

**WARRIORS**

**ORANGESTRIPE** - pale ginger tom with dark orange stripes.

**MOORCLAN**

**LEADER** **REDSTAR - **small tortoiseshell tom with a distinctive ginger tail.

**DEPUTY****TORNPELT - **a dark brown tom with a scarred pelt.

**MEDICINE CAT****NIGHTSTRIPE - **a very dark gray tom with faint black stripes.

**OAKCLAN**

**LEADER** **BRIGHTSTAR - **a brown and white she-cat.

**DEPUTY****SHADOWFROST - **a big black tom with piercing blue eyes.

**MEDICINE CAT** **SNOWFALL - **a white she-cat with ice-blue eyes.

**WARRIORS**

**BLACKSTRIPE **- dark black tabby tom.

**SNOWCLOUD **- white she-cat.

**BIRCHPELT -** long-furred tom with white, brown, and black fur.


End file.
